chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

, the enthalpy of atomization (also atomisation in British English) is the

enthalpy Enthalpy , a property of a thermodynamic system, is the sum of the system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant ...

change that accompanies the total separation of all

atoms Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas ...

in a chemical substance (either an element or a compound). This is often represented by the symbol or All bonds in the compound are broken in atomization and none are formed, so enthalpies of atomization are always positive. The associated

standard enthalpy Enthalpy , a property of a thermodynamic system, is the sum of the system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant p ...

is known as the standard enthalpy of atomization, /( kJ mol⁻¹), at 298.15 K (or 25 degrees Celsius) and 100 kPa.

Definition

Enthalpy of atomization is the amount of enthalpy change when a compound's bonds are broken and the component atoms are separated into single atoms( or monoatom ). Enthalpy of atomization is denoted by the symbol Δ_at''H''. The enthalpy change of atomization of gaseous H₂O is, for example, the sum of the HO–H and H–OH bond dissociation enthalpies. The enthalpy of atomization of an elemental solid is exactly the same as the enthalpy of sublimation for any elemental solid that becomes a

monatomic In physics and chemistry, "monatomic" is a combination of the words "mono" and "atomic", and means "single atom". It is usually applied to gases: a monatomic gas is a gas in which atoms are not bound to each other. Examples at standard conditions ...

gas upon

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when h ...

. When a diatomic element is converted to gaseous atoms, only half a mole of molecules will be needed, as the standard enthalpy change is based purely on the production of one mole of gaseous atoms. When the atoms in the molecule are different isotopes of the same element the calculation becomes non-trivial.

References

Enthalpy {{Chem-stub

Definition

See also

References