What chemicals are involved in the born-haber cycle?

2 Answers
Dec 6, 2014

It is not specific to any chemical.

The Born-Haber cycle is a way of calculating energies such as the enthalpy of lattice dissociation, by breaking this down into a series of individual steps and working out the energy change associated with each small step - basically a Born-Haber cycle is a way of using Hess's Law.

For example, the enthalpy of lattice dissociation refers to taking a giant ionic lattice in the solid state, and splitting it up into individual ions, all sufficiently far apart that they don't influence each other. If we can't measure this directly, we could calculate it by considering the energy change when the lattice was formed from its elements (enthalpy change of formation), the energy changes needed to atomise those elements, and the energy changes needed to turn each atom into the relevant ion. Combining those energy changes would give the enthalpy of lattice dissociation.

Dec 6, 2014

It is not specific to any chemical.

The Born-Haber cycle is a way of calculating energies such as the enthalpy of lattice dissociation, by breaking this down into a series of individual steps and working out the energy change associated with each small step - basically a Born-Haber cycle is a way of using Hess's Law.

For example, the enthalpy of lattice dissociation refers to taking a giant ionic lattice in the solid state, and splitting it up into individual ions, all sufficiently far apart that they don't influence each other. If we can't measure this directly, we could calculate it by considering the energy change when the lattice was formed from its elements (enthalpy change of formation), the energy changes needed to atomise those elements, and the energy changes needed to turn each atom into the relevant ion. Combining those energy changes would give the enthalpy of lattice dissociation.