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In chemistry, homonuclear molecules, or elemental molecules, or homonuclear species, are molecules composed of only one element. Homonuclear molecules may consist of various numbers of atoms. The size of the molecule an element can form depends on the element's properties, and some elements form molecules of more than one size. The most familiar homonuclear molecules are diatomic molecules, which consist of two atoms, although not all diatomic molecules are homonuclear. Homonuclear diatomic molecules include hydrogen (H2), oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2) and all of the halogens. Ozone (O3) is a common triatomic homonuclear molecule. Homonuclear tetratomic molecules include arsenic (As4) and phosphorus (P4).
Allotropes are different chemical forms of the same element (not containing any other element). In that sense, allotropes are all homonuclear. Many elements have multiple allotropic forms. In addition to the most common form of gaseous oxygen, O2, and ozone, there are other allotropes of oxygen. Sulfur forms several allotropes containing different numbers of sulfur atoms, including diatomic, triatomic, hexatomic and octatomic (S2, S3, S6, S8) forms, though the first three are rare. The element carbon is known to have a number of homonuclear molecules, including diamond and graphite.
Sometimes a cluster of atoms of a single kind of metallic element is considered a single molecule.
See also
- Heteronuclear molecule
- Category:Homonuclear diatomic molecules
- Category:Homonuclear triatomic molecules
References
- "How many gold atoms make gold metal?".
External links
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Homonuclear molecule news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message In chemistry homonuclear molecules or elemental molecules or homonuclear species are molecules composed of only one element Homonuclear molecules may consist of various numbers of atoms The size of the molecule an element can form depends on the element s properties and some elements form molecules of more than one size The most familiar homonuclear molecules are diatomic molecules which consist of two atoms although not all diatomic molecules are homonuclear Homonuclear diatomic molecules include hydrogen H2 oxygen O2 nitrogen N2 and all of the halogens Ozone O3 is a common triatomic homonuclear molecule Homonuclear tetratomic molecules include arsenic As4 and phosphorus P4 Allotropes are different chemical forms of the same element not containing any other element In that sense allotropes are all homonuclear Many elements have multiple allotropic forms In addition to the most common form of gaseous oxygen O2 and ozone there are other allotropes of oxygen Sulfur forms several allotropes containing different numbers of sulfur atoms including diatomic triatomic hexatomic and octatomic S2 S3 S6 S8 forms though the first three are rare The element carbon is known to have a number of homonuclear molecules including diamond and graphite Sometimes a cluster of atoms of a single kind of metallic element is considered a single molecule See alsoHeteronuclear molecule Category Homonuclear diatomic molecules Category Homonuclear triatomic moleculesReferences How many gold atoms make gold metal External linksMedia related to Homonuclear molecules at Wikimedia Commons This chemistry related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte
