Explain the following order of thermal stability of the carbonates of the alkaline earth metals: BaCO_(3) gt SrCO_(3) gt CaCO_(3) gt MgCO_(3)

Explain the following order of thermal stability of the carbonates of

1.	Explain the following order of thermal stability of the carbonates of the alkaline earth metals: BaCO_(3) gt SrCO_(3) gt CaCO_(3) gt MgCO_(3)
Answer» Solution :As the ionic POTENTIAL `(PHI)` of the metal ion increases, its attraction for the electron of the O-atom of `CO_(3)^(2-)` ion increases. As a consequence, the tendency of thermal decomposition of the metal carbonate (`MCO_(3))` to produce metal oxide (MO) and carbon dioxide `(CO_(2))` increases. as the ionic potential increases progressively from `Ba^(2+)` to `Mg^(2+)`, the thermal stability of the CARBONATES follows the given ORDER.