Explain why the enthalpy of vaporization of vanadium (460 kJ/mol) is much larger than that of zinc (114 kJ/mol).

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of enthalpy of vaporization, which is the amount of energy required to convert one mole of a substance from the liquid phase to the vapor phase at constant temperature and pressure.
2. Recognize that vanadium and zinc are both transition metals, but they differ in their electronic configurations and bonding characteristics.
3. Consider the metallic bonding in vanadium and zinc. Vanadium, with a partially filled d-orbital, can form stronger metallic bonds due to the availability of more electrons for bonding compared to zinc, which has a completely filled d-orbital.
4. Acknowledge that stronger metallic bonds in vanadium result in a higher enthalpy of vaporization because more energy is required to overcome these bonds during the phase transition from liquid to gas.
5. Compare the atomic structures and bonding, noting that the stronger the bonding interactions within the metal, the higher the enthalpy of vaporization. This explains why vanadium, with its stronger metallic bonding, has a significantly higher enthalpy of vaporization than zinc.

Key Concepts

Enthalpy of Vaporization

Enthalpy of vaporization is the amount of energy required to convert a substance from a liquid to a gas at constant temperature and pressure. It reflects the strength of intermolecular forces within the liquid; stronger forces require more energy to overcome. This property is crucial for understanding why different substances have varying vaporization energies.

Intermolecular Forces

Intermolecular forces are the attractive forces between molecules that influence physical properties such as boiling and melting points. In metals like vanadium, metallic bonding results in strong interactions between atoms, leading to a higher enthalpy of vaporization compared to zinc, which has weaker metallic bonds and thus lower energy requirements for vaporization.

Atomic Structure and Bonding

The atomic structure and bonding of an element determine its physical and chemical properties. Vanadium, being a transition metal with a more complex electron configuration, exhibits stronger bonding characteristics compared to zinc. This difference in bonding strength contributes to the significant disparity in their enthalpy of vaporization values.