Calcium Chloride

  • Email
  • Sharebar
  • Email
jlu149's picture
Submitted by jlu149 on Tue, 19/07/2016 - 13:26
Introduction

This blog will detail the composition, structure and characteristics of calcium chloride and includes an interactive 3D molecular model of the aforementioned molecule. Calcium chloride is an ionic compound made up of calcium and chlorine and is reflected in the chemical formula CaCl2. It is a inorganic salt and is commonly used as ice and dust control for roads, oil and gas drilling as well as an accelerator for concrete. Other uses for calcium chloride include plant refrigeration and for medicinal purposes such as replenishing calcium levels and an antidote for magnesium poisoning.


Information

Calcium chloride is formed through the ionic bonds between calcium cations and chloride anions. A  single calcium chloride molecule is composed of one calcium ion and two chloride ions. Calcium ions have a charge of +2 whereas chloride ions have a charge of -1, this means that calcium chloride molecules have 0 or neutral charge. Calcium chloride molecules can also form crystals based on these ionic properties. The positive calcium ions orient themselves so that they are close to negative chloride ions from another molecule resulting in the crystalline structure shown in the interactive model.

 
In addition to its solid crystalline form, sodium chloride also exists as a liquid solution. When it is a liquid, it becomes a colourless solution that contains exothermic properties as well as the ability to attract moisture from the air. While it is a solid, calcium chloride exists as either a powder, flake or granule-like substance. Due its properties as a salt as well as its chemical makeup, all forms of calcium chloride are highly soluble in water. This, when combined with its ability to dissolve at low temperatures, make it well suited to its primary commercial role as ice and dust control. However, despite its high solubility even at low temperatures, calcium chloride possesses a high heat tolerance with a melting point of between 772-775°C and a boiling point of over 1900°C. 

Issues in Creation of Model

One of the most prevalent problems in the creation of the interactive 3D model was the programming. Although the program wasn't challenging in itself, its extreme repetitiveness meant that over 100 lines of code had to be utilised to create what initially looks like a relatively simple model. This was extremely time consuming and made the work far more laborious than it had to be. Although the obvious solution to this problem would be to utilise the repeat command, it would not work in the case of this program. This is due to the fact that despite being almost exactly the same, each line of repeated code was slightly different. As a result, the repeat command would have to be re-entered continuously therefore negating its desired function. 

 
Another issue present in the creation of the interactive model was creating an initial design for the model. During the initial research for the project, multiple images were found regarding the structure of calcium chloride. However, each image detailed a different structure. Even as search terms were made more specific, conflicting images of the structure of the molecule continued to appear. In the end, a decision was made to create a model based on the image that appeared most regularly. As further research was conducted, it was discovered that the chosen image was of the crystalline form of calcium chloride. It was therefore concluded that this was a satisfactory basis for the interactive model as calcium chloride is most commonly found in its crystalline state.
 
Links
 
General Information (Links may not be working, copy and paste URLs if need be)
 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_chloride
 
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Calcium_dichloride#section=Top
 
Specific Information:

http://study.com/academy/lesson/calcium-chloride-uses-structure-formula.....

http://www.calciumchloride.co.uk/calcium_chloride_info.html

My Program:
 
 
 
 
Groups: