Periodic table of the chemical elements quantum mechanics consistent
B. J. Schaeffer
The usual periodic tables (first table) of the chemical elements are already 97 % in accord with quantum mechanics. Three elements only do not fit correctly into it, in disagreement with the Pauli exclusion principle [1]. In order to ensure coherence, it is put forward to place helium beside hydrogen into the s-block. Lutetium and lawrencium pertain to the d block of the transition metals and should not be in the f block with the rare earths or the actinoids. By replacing the lanthanoids (rare earths or lanthanides) and actinoids (actinides) boxes of the official IUPAC periodic table by those of lutetium and lawrencium, with helium placed beside hydrogen, the compact periodic table is 100 % quantum mechanics correct.
History of the periodic table
The Mendeleev table is more than one century old. The number of columns was 6 in 1869, corrected to 8 in 1871, at the origin, based on atomic masses with twelve lines and eight columns, corresponding approximately to the s, p and d blocks of quantum mechanics. The transition metals were moved separately and the corresponding column was replaced by the rare gases after their discovery by Ramsay. Moseley replaced the mass with the atomic number as a classification criterion. The transuranians were discovered by Seaborg who placed the lanthanoids and actinoids separately, below the table, for reasons of compactness.
Various table shapes may be found in the literature. On the usual ones, one line is a period with a total of 6 periods. Columns are grouped approximately in four blocks named s, p, d, f, respectively for the values 0, 1, 2, 3 of the second quantum number l. Each block contains theoretically an even number of elements (a consequence of the Pauli exclusion principle). They are given by the formula 2(2l + 1) e.g. 2, 6, 10, 14. On the IUPAC official table [2], there are 18 columns. Columns 3 to 12 form the d group, the transition metals, formerly part of Mendeleev group VIII. Column VIII was then used for the rare gases and renamed 18. The f block (l = 3) is apart.
Although updated many times, the periodic table has some anomalies shown on he IUPAC official table with question marks. There is a vacant box beside hydrogen and a strange discontinuity below yttrium. With the advent of quantum mechanics, the periodic table got a theoretical background that solves these anomalies.
Helium
It is well known that helium has a 1s2 structure, with two electrons, which is a spherical mode of vibration, the same as hydrogen 1s1, with one electron. Helium, pertaining to the s block, is usually placed with the other rare gases in the p block [3] where the electronic structure is np6 with six electrons in the outer shells instead of two for helium. In 1962 Bartlett showed that the noble gases were not so inert. There exists compounds of xenon and krypton with fluor, chlorine, hydrogen, platinum [4], gold [5]… There is no chemical reason any more to place helium with the other noble gases [6]. The vacant box beside hydrogen should filled with helium where it has its natural place, in accord with quantum mechanics as put forward by Bohr in 1921 [1].
Lutetium and lawrencium
Lutetium and lawrencium are traditionally considered as belonging respectively to lanthanoids and actinoids having 15 elements each. According to the Pauli exclusion principle, the f block contains an even maximum of 14 electrons. Lutetium (also named Cassiopium Cp) pertains to the d block of the transition metals [1] with 10 elements and therefore not to the f block of the lanthanoids. Lutetium is not included in the study of the valency of rare earths by Strange et al [7]. According to Jensen [8], physical and chemical properties unanimously favour the placement of lutetium below scandium and yttrium and not within the lanthanoids. This is also valid for the actinoids, mostly unknown at the time of Bohr. A physical or chemical classification criterion seems difficult to apply to the newly discovered actinoids that decay seconds after they are formed [9].
Updating of the periodic table (second table)
Bent [6] recommends to place helium above beryllium. The exclusion principle is therefore satisfied. Lutetium and lawrencium should be in the d-block below scandium and yttrium. The lanthanoids and actinoids are now 14 each as predicted by quantum mechanics for the f block. The only unambiguous classification criterion is the electronic structure, as was put forward by Bohr and Pauli more than seventy years ago [1].
References
1. Born M., Dougall J., Radcliffe J.M., Blin-Stoyle, R.J., Atomic Physics. Dover, New York, 1989 (first édition in 1935).
2. Holden, N.E. and Coplen Ty., The Periodic Table of the Elements. Chemistry International, 26, No. 1 January-February 2004
3. Scerri, E.R., Some aspects of the metaphysics of chemistry and the nature of the elements. HYLE. 11 (1-2), pp. 127-145, 2005.
4. Bartlett N., Xenon Hexafluoroplatinate(V) Xe+[PtF6]–. Proc. Chem. Soc. (June), 218, 1962.
5. Brisdon A.K., Halogens and Noble Gases. Annu. Rep. Prog. Chem., Sect. A, 97, 107–116, 2001.
6. Bent, A., New Ideas in Chemistry from Fresh Energy for the Periodic Law. Authorhouse, Bloomington, IN, 2006
7. Strange, P., Svane, A., Temmerman, W. M., Szotek, Z., Winter H., Understanding the valency of rare earths from first-principles theory. Nature (London), 399, 756-758, 1999.
8. Jensen, W.B., The Positions of Lanthanum (Actinium) and Lutetium (Lawrencium) in the Periodic Table. Journal of Chemical Education, 59, p. 634-636, 1982.
9. Kendall Powell, Heavy elements: A very brief encounter. Nature, 418, 815-816, 2002.
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