Question

How can metal like Na and K be reduced?

Answer 1

Explanation:

Metals like sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium are extracted by electrolysis of their chlorides in molten state. These metals are not extracted by reduction of their oxides with carbon because: ... c) Carbon has less affinity for oxygen than these metals.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:

Sodium:

• Sodium is a chemical element with the atomic number 11 and the symbol Na.
• It is a delicate, silvery-white metal that is very reactive.
• Due to its position in group 1 of the periodic table, sodium is an alkali metal.
• The free metal must be prepared from compounds because it does not exist in nature.
• The sixth most common element in the Earth crust is sodium, which can be found in a variety of minerals like feldspar, sodalite, and halite (NaCl).
• In general, metallic sodium is more reactive than lithium and less reactive than potassium.
• Potassium and lithium have even more negative potentials than sodium metal, which has a high reduction potential with a standard Na+/Na couple potential of 2.71 volts.

Potassium:

• The chemical element potassium has the atomic number 19 and it has the letter K as its symbol.
• Potassium is a silvery-white metal that can be easily and gently cut with a knife.
• Within seconds of exposure, potassium metal quickly reacts with atmospheric oxygen to produce flaky white potassium peroxide. Potassium is an alkali metal in the periodic table.
• All alkali metals have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell, which can be removed easily to produce a positive-charged ion called a cation, which combines with anions to form salts. In nature, potassium only appears in ionic salts.
• Although potassium metal is a more effective reducer than sodium, potassium metal can still be made by reducing potassium chloride with sodium.

Therefore, Only electrolysis can be used to extract metals like Sodium (Na) and Potassium(K), because other reducing agents like carbon monoxide, and hydrogen lack the energy needed to dissolve the ionic bonds holding the active metals to their chlorides or oxides.

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