Question

What are the steps of the Born-Haber cycle for the ionic compound MX, made up of the generic metal M and the generic, gaseous halogen X?

Answer 1

The Born-Haber cycle is a thermochemical process involving five steps to conceptually form an ionic compound MX from its elemental forms and calculates the lattice energy using Hess's law.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Born-Haber Cycle Steps

The Born-Haber cycle is a method used to calculate the lattice energies of ionic solids that cannot be measured directly. This cycle involves Hess's law and decomposes the formation of an ionic solid into a series of steps which are:

1. Sublimation of the solid metal M to form gaseous atoms of M.
2. Ionization of the gaseous metal atoms M to form cations M+.
3. Dissociation of the diatomic halogen molecule X2 to form gaseous halogen atoms X.
4. Formation of gaseous halide anions X- from the halogen atoms by electron addition.
5. Combining the gaseous cations M+ with the gaseous anions X- to form the ionic solid MX, releasing the lattice energy.

These steps provide a conceptual route for the formation of the ionic compound MX from its constituent elements, and the associated enthalpies can be used to calculate the lattice energy of the compound.