Carbon Monoxide: Key Concepts & Applications

Carbon monoxide is an organic dative covalent compound with the formula CO. It is produced at large scale industrially as it is used for manufacturing numerous organic and inorganic compounds. It is flammable and toxic gas so it must be handled very carefully. 

Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first who observed or recorded that coal produces carbon monoxide on burning. Then in 1776, French Chemist de Lassone produced carbon monoxide. He heated zinc oxide (ZnO) with coke to produce CO. But as CO burned with blue flame so by mistake, he concluded that the gas is hydrogen. Although soon in 1800, Scottish Chemist William Cruickshank identified that the gas is not hydrogen instead it is a compound of carbon and oxygen.  

Carbon Monoxide and its Various Properties

Students are taught about the hazardous effects of carbon monoxide since the fifth grade, however, the harmful effects of carbon monoxide are further discussed in depth in eighth grade in the chapter pollution of air and water. This chapter mainly deals with the harmful gases that cause air and water pollution, it talks about how gases like carbon monoxide are negatively impacting the standard of living among citizens, and how a great number of people suffer from respiratory diseases due to the excess of these gases in the environment. 

There are various chemicals that contaminate the air and those are called air pollutants. The source of such chemicals is usually from natural sources like smoke and dust that arise from forest fires or volcanic eruptions. Certain man-made activities also add up to the air pollutants which are then released into the air like certain factories, power plants, automobile exhaust, and burning of firewood. These are the kinds of activities that do not carefully dispose of their waste.

Along with carbon monoxide, there are numerous gases and chemicals that pollute the air like nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, methane, and sulphur dioxide. These are some of the major pollutants in the air and can cause deadly diseases in living beings.

Carbon monoxide poisoning amongst human beans or living beans is caused when carbon monoxide starts building up in the bloodstream. When there is an excess of carbon One oxide in the air the body simultaneously starts to replace the oxygen present in the red blood cells with carbon monoxide. This leads to serious health issues like tissue damage or even death.

Carbon monoxide is a colourless, tasteless and odourless gas which is mainly produced by burning gasoline, charcoal, propane, wood, or any other fuel. Appliances that have not been properly ventilated and engines particularly which are tightly sealed can lead to the accumulation of carbon monoxide to extremely dangerous levels. If a living being has been contacted with carbon monoxide and has consumed it in excess it is advised to get him or her in an open environment where you can breathe fresh air, and then immediate medical care is needed.

Certain signs and symbols of consumption of carbon monoxide that lead to poisoning include- dull headache, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, blurred vision, confusion, loss of consciousness. If someone consumes carbon monoxide while sleeping then that can lead to death as he or she wouldn’t realise that he or she is consuming carbon monoxide while sleeping. This can cause reversible brain damage among people and some can even die before anyone comes for help. Here are some of the complications that can be caused by carbon monoxide- Death, permanent brain damage, foetal death, heart damage, can lead up to life-threatening cardiac complications.

Carbon monoxide also has certain uses for industrial purposes and these uses are explained in depth in the material provided by us, and it also talks about the toxicity of carbon monoxide. After studying this, students can clear all their doubts about carbon monoxide and its properties.

Structure of Carbon Monoxide or CO

Molecular formula of carbon monoxide is CO. Its structural formula is given as –

: C ☰ O : 

One molecule of carbon monoxide consists of one carbon and one oxygen atom which are joined by two pi bonds and one sigma bond. Carbon atom has 4 valence electrons and oxygen atom has 6 valence electrons, thus in total carbon and oxygen have 10 electrons in valence shell in one molecule of carbon monoxide. So, triple bonds are formed following the octet rule for both the atoms. Carbon has sp hybridization in carbon monoxide. Bond angle is 180°. Its bond length is 112.8 pm.  

Properties 

Carbon monoxide shows the following physical and chemical properties –

• The molecular weight of carbon monoxide (CO) is 28g.

• It is an odourless, colourless, and tasteless gas. 

• It is highly toxic in nature.

• It is flammable. 

• Its melting point is -205 ℃.

• The boiling point of CO is -191.5 ℃.

• It is very less soluble in water. Only 25mg of CO is soluble in one liter of water at 25 ℃. 

• It is soluble in chloroform, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, ethanol, ammonium hydroxide, and benzene. 

• Carbon monoxide has polar covalent bonds. 

• It is used as a ligand in many coordination complexes. 

• Reaction with chlorine – Carbon monoxide reacts with chlorine and forms COCl2. The reaction is given below –

CO + Cl2 🡪 COCl2

• Reaction with iron(III) oxide – Carbon monoxide is used as a reducing agent in blast furnaces for the extraction of iron from its ore. The reaction is given below –

Fe2O3 + 3CO 🡪 2Fe + 3CO2

• Reaction with copper oxide – Carbon monoxide reacts with copper oxide and forms copper and carbon dioxide. The reaction is given below –

CuO + CO 🡪 Cu + CO2

• Reaction with nickel – Carbon monoxide reacts with nickel and forms tetracarbonyl nickel. It is a very toxic compound that has a musty smell. The reaction is given below –

Ni + 4CO 🡪 Ni(CO)4

• Reaction with water vapour – Carbon monoxide reacts with water at a very high temperature and gives CO2 and H2. The reaction is given below –

CO + H2O(g) 🡪 CO2 + H2

• Reaction with haemoglobin – Carbon monoxide binds with haemoglobin. This is a reason for the death of human beings due to the inhalation of carbon monoxide in excess. The reaction is given below –

Hgb + CO 🡪 HgbCO

Iron present in haemoglobin binds with CO very strongly. 

Production 

Carbon monoxide is prepared in laboratories and its large-scale production is done in industries. We will discuss its laboratory methods of production and industrial methods of production separately. Let us first discuss its laboratory methods of preparation –

From zinc and calcium carbonate – On heating powdered zinc and calcium carbonate mixture, we get zinc oxide, calcium oxide, and carbon monoxide. The reaction is given below –

Zn + CaCO3 🡪 ZnO + CaO + CO

From silver nitrate and iodoform – The reaction of silver nitrate and iodoform also gives carbon monoxide. The reaction is given below –

CHI3 + 3AgNO3 + H2O 🡪 3HNO3 + CO + 3AgI

By dehydration of methanoic acid – On dehydration of methanoic acid in presence of conc. Sulfuric acid gives carbon monoxide. The reaction is given below –

HCOOH 🡪 CO + H2O

Now let’s discuss industrial methods of production of carbon monoxide –

From carbon – In industries, the main source of carbon monoxide is producer gas. Producer gas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and nitrogen. It is produced from coke. Air is passed over red–hot carbonaceous fuel or coke and carbon monoxide is formed. It is an exothermic reaction. The reactions involved in the process are given below –

C + O2 → CO2 + 97,600 calories

CO2 + C → 2CO, – 38,800 calories

2C + O2 → 2CO + 58,800 calories

Water-gas – Another source of carbon monoxide is water gas. It is produced by the reaction of steam and carbon. It is an endothermic process. The reaction is given below –

H2O + C 🡪 H2 + CO 

Uses of CO (Carbon Monoxide)

Its large-scale production at the industrial level clearly indicates its importance in various fields. A few of its uses are listed below –

• It is used as one of the reagents for the production of aldehydes. 

• It is used in the manufacturing of detergents. 

• Phosgene is produced by using carbon monoxide. 

• It is used in the purification of nickel.

• It is used in water gas shift reactions to produce hydrogen.

• It is used in meat colouring.

• It is used as a reducing agent. 

• It is used in many beverages.

• It is used in high-powered infrared lasers and the removal of rust from the surface of metals. 

• It is used in metallurgy.

• It has been proposed that it can be used as fuel on Mars. 

Toxicity of Carbon Monoxide 

CO is a very poisonous gas. When it is inhaled in large quantities, it can be lethal. As it reacts with the iron of haemoglobin and forms carboxyhemoglobin in the blood. Mining workers are generally at high risk of carbon monoxide toxicity. Heart patients, smokers, diabetic patients are also at high risk of CO toxicity. Symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, vomiting, chest pain, dizziness, etc. 

Key Concepts in Context to which Carbon Monoxide Can Be Studied 

• Air Pollution

• How Does Air Get Polluted?

• Greenhouse Effect

• Water Pollution

• How Does Water Get Polluted?

This ends our coverage on the topic “Carbon monoxide”. We hope you enjoyed learning and were able to grasp the concepts. We hope after reading this article you will be able to solve problems based on the topic. If you are looking for solutions to NCERT Textbook problems based on this topic, then log on to the our website or download Vedantu Learning App. By doing so, you will be able to access free PDFs of NCERT Solutions as well as Revision notes, Mock Tests, and much more.