[General | States | Energies | Oxidation & Electrons]
[Appearance & Characteristics | Reactions | Other Forms]
[Radius | Conductivity
| Abundance | History]
| Name |
Bismuth |
Symbol |
Bi |
| Atomic number |
83 |
Atomic weight |
208.9804 |
| Density @ 293 K |
9.8 g/cm3 |
Atomic volume |
21.3 cm3/mol |
| Group |
Metal, Nitrogen group |
Discovered |
1600 |
| State (s, l, g) |
s |
| Melting point |
544.5 K |
Boiling point |
1837 K |
| Heat of fusion |
11.30 kJ/mol |
Heat of vaporization |
104.80 kJ/mol |
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| 1st ionization energy |
703.3 kJ/mole |
Electronegativity |
2.02 |
| 2nd ionization energy |
1610 kJ/mole |
Electron affinity |
91.3 kJ/mole |
| 3rd ionization energy |
2466 kJ/mole |
Specific heat |
0.12 J/gK |
| Heat atomization |
207 kJ/mole atoms |
| Shells |
2,8,18,32,18,5 |
Electron configuration |
[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p3 |
| Minimum oxidation number |
-3 |
Maximum oxidation number |
5 |
| Minimum common oxidation number |
0 |
Maximum common oxidation number |
3 |
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| Structure |
rhombohedral |
Color |
white |
| Uses |
antacid, fusible alloy |
Toxicity |
|
| Hardness |
2.5 mohs |
Characteristics |
brittle |
| Reaction with air |
mild, w/ht =>Bi2O3 |
Reaction with 6M HCl |
none |
| Reaction with 6M HCl |
none |
Reaction with 15M HNO3 |
mild, =>Bi(NO3)3, NOx |
| Reaction with 6M NaOH |
|
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| Number of isotopes |
1 |
Hydride(s) |
BiH3 |
| Oxide(s) |
Bi2O3 |
Chloride(s) |
BiCl3 BiCl4 |
| Ionic radius (2- ion) |
pm |
Ionic radius (1- ion) |
pm |
| Atomic radius |
150 pm |
Ionic radius (1+ ion) |
pm |
| Ionic radius (2+ ion) |
pm |
Ionic radius (3+ ion) |
117 pm |
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| Thermal conductivity |
7.92 J/m-sec-deg |
Electrical conductivity |
9.363 1/mohm-cm |
| Polarizability |
7.4 A^3 |
| Source |
Pb smelting by-product |
Rel. abund. solar system |
-0.842 log |
| Abundance earth's crust |
-0.8 log |
Cost, pure |
11 $/100g |
| Cost, bulk |
$/100g |
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History:
(Ger. Weisse
Masse, white mass; later Wisuth and Bisemutum) In
early times bismuth was confused with tin and
lead. Claude Geoffroy the Younger showed it to be
distinct from lead in 1753. It is a white
crystalline, brittle metal with a pinkish tinge.
It occurs native. The most important ores are
bismuthinite or bismuth glance and bismite. Peru,
Japan, Mexico, Bolivia, and Canada are major
bismuth producers. Much of the bismuth produced
in the U.S. is obtained as a by-product in
refining lead, copper, tin, silver, and gold
ores. Bismuth is the most diamagnetic of all
metals, and the thermal conductivity is lower
than any metal, except mercury. It has a high
electrical resistance, and has the highest Hall
effect of any metal (i.e., greatest increase in
electrical resistance when placed in a magnetic
field). "Bismanol" is a permanent
magnet of high coercive force, made of MnBi, by
the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center. Bismuth
expands 3.32% on solidification. This property
makes bismuth alloys particularly suited to the
making of sharp castings of objects subject to
damage by high temperatures. With other metals
such as tin, cadmium, etc., bismuth forms
low-melting alloys which are extensively used for
safety devices in fire detection and
extinguishing systems. Bismuth is used in
producing malleable irons and is finding use as a
catalyst for making acrylic fibers. When bismuth
is heated in air it burns with a blue flame,
forming yellow fumes of the oxide. The metal is
also used as a thermocouple material, and has
found application as a carrier for U235 or U233
fuel in nuclear reactors. Its soluble salts are
characterized by forming insoluble basic salts on
the addition of water, a property sometimes used
in detection work. Bismuth oxychloride is used
extensively in cosmetics. Bismuth subnitrate and
subcarbonate are used in medicine.
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