What causes solids to sublime?

What causes solids to sublime?

Sublimation is caused by the absorption of heat which provides enough energy for some molecules to overcome the attractive forces of their neighbors and escape into the vapor phase. Since the process requires additional energy, it is an endothermic change.

What needs to happen for sublimation to occur?

Low temperatures, strong winds, intense sunlight, very low air pressure — just the recipe for sublimation to occur.

What solids can sublimate?

Familiar substances that sublime readily include iodine (shown below), dry ice (shown below), menthol, and camphor. Sublimation is occasionally used in the laboratory as a method for purification of solids, for example, with caffeine.

What features make a compound sublime easily?

Compounds that are capable of sublimation tend to be those with weak intermolecular forces in the solid state. These include compounds with symmetrical or spherical structures. Examples of compounds that can be sublimed are in Figure 6.28.

What kind of sublimation does a solid undergo?

Typically solids undergo sublimation at low pressures (under vacuum). At standard, atmospheric pressure, a few solids which will sublime are iodine (at slightly higher than room temperature), carbon dioxide (dry ice) at -78.5 degrees Celsius, as well as naphthalene (used in mothballs) and arsenic.

Can a solid be sublimed to its triple point?

Any solid may be sublimed if its temperature and pressure are below its triple point. For example, if you were to freeze water into ice and cool it further and then reduce the pressure, you could get ice to sublime.

Which is an example of a sublime solid?

There are other solids whose vapor pressure overtakes that of the liquid before melting can occur. Such substances sublime; a common example is solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) at 1 atm of atmospheric pressure. Dry Ice Solid carbon dioxide (known as “dry ice”) sublimes into the air.

What is the transition from solid to gas?

Phase Transition: Solid to Gas. Sublimation is the process of transformation directly from the solid phase to the gaseous phase, without passing through an intermediate liquid phase.