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SN1 & SN2/E1 & E2 Reacttions

Models of some molecules.

Most of this planet’s nickel is inaccessible, locked away in its molten iron core, which is calculated to contain 10% nickel. The nickel that we mine came from outer space, arriving as giant iron/nickel meteorites. One of these hit the Sudbury region of Ontario, Canada, hundreds of millions of years ago. Today it supplies about 140 million tonnes of nickel per year, 15% of the global demand.

The metal from iron/nickel meteorites was used by our ancestors as a superior form of iron. It was worked into tools and swords and was like the stainless steel of today. Because the metal did not rust, it was regarded by the natives of Peru as a kind of silver. In Yunnan, southern China, nickel was mined from nickel sulfide deposits: a zinc-nickel alloy called pai-t’ung (white copper) was in use as long ago as 200 BC.

Extraction and use



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Nickel metal hydride batteries are ubiquitous today and are increasingly used in hybrid vehicles

In 1888 Ludwig Mond greatly improved the extraction of pure nickel from its ores. He was investigating the problem of some leaky valves that were made of nickel and controlled the flow of carbon monoxide. He discovered that the gas was reacting with the nickel to form nickel carbonyl, Ni(CO)4, which is volatile and boils at 43°C. From this discovery came the Mond process for separating the metal. About half the nickel produced each year ends up as stainless steel, most of which is iron with around 18% chromium and 8% nickel.

Nickel is easy to work and can be drawn into wire. It resists corrosion even at high temperatures and so is used in gas turbines and rocket engines. Other important uses of nickel are in metal plating, industrial catalysts and in coins. Another application we couldn’t be without today is in nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. These are increasingly used in hybrid vehicles as they are compact, reliable and have a long life-expectancy.

The central science is known as

Chemistry is concerned about matter and its compositions
Biology is concerned about the living matter
Physics is concerned about the interactions between energy and matter