Inorganic Chemistry

KEY POINTS:

• Although some define inorganic chemistry as anything other than organic chemistry, the distinction between the two is not as clear cut. There is a lot of cross over between the two disciplines.
• Inorganic chemistry tends to involve the transition metals – part of the periodic table that has wide ranging applications in areas such as catalysis, surfactants, and pigments. Any time you observe a colour there is a high likelihood that a transition metal compound is present. Many transition metal compounds behave as catalysts for essential reactions due to their variable oxidation states and vacant orbitals.
• The synthesis of ammonia, using iron as a catalyst, had tremendous implications for the human race. This led to the manufacture of fertilisers, without which of course the human population of this planet would not be fed.
• Apart from the consumption of crude oil, an important industrial marker of any country is how much sulphuric acid is produced and utilised – such is the ubiquity of its applications. Thus the production of sulphuric acid by the Contact Process is another simple example of the huge impact that inorganic chemistry can have.
• Whether the chemistry involved is organic or inorganic, there can be no argument that chemistry has to date revealed much of the secrets and mysteries of the universe, the origins of life, and hopefully how the future of the human race can be guaranteed – in the face of the problems we have created!