Magnesium analytical methods - Essay Example

Magnesium is an important element in medicine, industry, consumer products and biology.Understanding the analytical methods for interpreting magnesium levels is crucial to chemical analysis across a diverse range of scientific and industrial endeavors. In order to better understand magnesium and its interactions, it is important to examine fundamental of the element that have been previously pioneered. This knowledge sets the stage for application of contemporary techniques to produce new and exciting results in magnesium analysis.

The element Magnesium has the chemical symbol Mg, as appears on the periodic table. The atomic number for the element is 12 and the average atomic mass of its isotopes is 24.3050. It is a group IIA element (Group 2) also referred to as the alkali earth metals. The most common naturally occurring isotopes, or those that are stable under standard conditions are the three stable isotopes, 24Mg, 25Mg, and 26Mg, although nineteen radioisotopes that range from 19Mg to 40Mg have been isolated; however, these unstable isotopes commonly decay to atoms of sodium or aluminum depending on their weight and composition [2].

Of the stable isotopes 24Mg is the most abundant, accounting for approximately 79% of Earth’s magnesium [5]. The most common oxidation state for magnesium is the state that corresponds with its noble gas valence configuration, Mg2+, a state which is responsible for the majority of compounds formed by magnesium [2]. Compounds may appear with oxidation numbers as small as zero in some cases, however, as magnesium is found in a great diversity of naturally occurring compounds. Magnesium commonly forms chlorides (MgCl2), oxides (MgO), and hydrides (MgH2) [5].

Because of its historical relevance, it is no surprise that magnesium compounds were studied as early as the 1700s, when the physician and chemist Joseph Black, who is sometimes credited with the discovery of magnesium, reported initial research on magnesium compounds. This pioneer work paved the way for the acceptance of magnesium as an element, though it was nearly half a century later when pure magnesium metal was able to be first produced, partially due to the strong binding of magnesium to other elements in compounds [5].

The English chemist Humphry Davy first prepared pure magnesium by developing a system to pass an electric current through molten magnesium oxide (MgO), causing the compound to decompose into its component elements magnesium and oxygen gas as follows: 1.2 Abundance and Common Compounds Magnesium is the eighth most abundant element on the earth, appearing in the earth’s crust, surface minerals, and seawater predominantly. The name magnesium dates back centuries. In fact, due to the large occurrence of magnesium in geological samples, the name was selected in honor of a region in Greece known as Magnesia which contains large supplies of magnesium compounds [5].

The element magnesium forms 2.3 percent by weight, 2.0 percent by molar fraction, and 0.3 percent by volume of the earth’s crust. Additionally the element commonly is found in seawater and tap water [1]. Several well known magnesium materials that occur in the earth have been known for centuries. One such material is calcium magnesium carbonate, or dolomite, which has the formula CaMg(CO3)2, which is used as a building material [5]. Another example is magnesium sulfate, or Epsom salts, which have the formula MgSO4.

Epsom salts occur naturally and are used in cosmetics and bath products. Magnesium is also estimated to be a common element throughout our solar system, estimated to contain seven hundred parts per million by weight and thirty parts per million by moles magnesium [5]. Magnesium ions have been role to play important biological roles in nucleic acid biochemistry, enzyme activation, and many other biological systems [3]. In recent years increasing emphasis has been places on the