Why would you reasonably expect cadmium to be a contaminant in zinc but not in silver?????

Name: Problem 5, Chapter 2: Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter
Uploaded: 2021-06-03T16:34:15-08:00
Duration: 2 min 36 s
Channel: Ronald Prasad
Description: Why would you reasonably expect cadmium to be a contaminant in zinc but not in silver?????

step 1 What would you reasonably expect cadmium to be a contaminant in zinc but not in silver? So cadmi

Why would you reasonably expect cadmium to be a contaminant...

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Key Concepts

Periodic Table Groupings

Elements in the periodic table that reside in the same group often exhibit similar chemical and physical properties. Cadmium and zinc are both found in Group 12, which means they have comparable electron configurations and tend to occur together in nature. This similarity often leads to cadmium being present as an impurity when zinc is mined and processed, as they are chemically analogous.

Geochemical Association

In many naturally occurring ore deposits, the geochemical behavior of cadmium and zinc causes them to be concentrated together. Zinc ores, such as sphalerite, frequently contain cadmium as a trace contaminant because the formation conditions favor the inclusion of chemically similar elements. On the other hand, silver is found in mineral deposits that are geochemically distinct and do not typically include cadmium.

Ore Formation and Mineralogy

The formation of ores is governed by geological processes that concentrate certain elements over others. Zinc-bearing minerals tend to incorporate cadmium due to their similar ionic size and chemistry, which is not the case for silver. Silver ores form under different conditions and with different accompanying elements, resulting in the absence of cadmium contamination in silver extractions.

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