Beryllium

Beryllium is passivated by oxygen, forming a BeO surface which is resistant to acid. On a fresh surface, without the protective layer, beryllium dissolves readily in dilute acids such as sulphuric acid, H₂SO₄, hydrochloric acid, HCl, and nitric acid, HNO₃, forming Be(II) ions and hydrogen gas, H₂.

Be(s) + 2 H⁺(aq) Be²⁺(aq) + H₂(g)

Beryllium is passivated by oxygen, forming a BeO surface. Normally beryllium cannot be oxidized, even when heating to 600 °C, but powdered beryllium can be brought to burn in air, forming beryllium oxide, BeO and beryllium nitride, Be₃N₂.

2 Be(s) + O₂(g) 2 BeO(s)
3 Be(s) + N₂(g) Be₃N₂(s)

Beryllium metal reacts with chlorine, Cl₂ and bromine, Br₂, forming the corresponding beryllium(II)dihalides.

Be(s) + Cl₂(g) BeCl₂(s)
Be(s) + Br₂(g) BeBr₂(s)

Beryllium does not react with water or steam, even if the metal is heated to red hot.

Method 3500-Be C Inductively Coupled Plasma Method [1]. A portion of the sample is digested in a combination of acids. The digest is aspirated into an 8,000 K argon plasma where resulting light emission is quantified for 30 elements simultaneously.

Method limit of detection in water = 0.001 mg/L
Method limit of detection in soil = 0.10 mg/kg