Zinc , including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure,ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous metal. It is brittle at ordinary temperatures but malleable at 100 to 150 o C. It is a fair conductor of electricity, and burns in air at high red heat with evolution of white clouds of the oxide. Combined with other elements as ores, Zinc is found in nature.It has unusual electrical, thermal, optical, and solid-state properties that have not been fully investigated. The metal is employed to form numerous alloys with other metals. Brass, nickel silver, commercial bronze, soft solder, and aluminum solder are some of the more important alloys. Large quantities of zinc are used to produce die castings, which are used extensively by the automotive, electrical, and hardware industries. Zinc is also used extensively to galvanize other metals such as iron to prevent corrosion. Zinc oxide is widely used in the manufacture of paints, rubber products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, floor coverings, plastics, printing inks, soap, storage batteries, textiles, electrical equipment, and other products. Zinc sulfide is used in making luminous dials, X-ray and TV screens, and fluorescent lights The chloride and chromate are also important compounds. Zinc is available asmetal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. The element name Zinc originates from the German word ‘zin" meaning tin.
Zinc facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes.Nanoparticles and nanopowdersprovide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits.
Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Zinc is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
Zinc is a Block D, Group 12, Period 4 element. The number of electrons in each of Zinc‘s shells is 2, 8, 18, 2, and its electronic configuration is [Ar] 3d10 4s2. In its elemental form zinc‘s CAS number is 7440-66-6. The zinc atom has a radius of 133.5.pm and it‘s Van der Waals radius is 139.pm.
All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Zinc compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis.
Zinc was first discovered by Andreas Marggraf in 1746.
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of zinc and each of its naturally occurringisotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
The following table shows the abundance of Zinc present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for zinc metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Zinccompounds have several important biological roles. Zinc is a key element of many enzymes and the hormone insulin also contains zinc. Zinc also plays an essential role in sexual maturation and reproduction. A deficiency of zinc can result in stunted growth and male sexual immaturity. Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for zinc (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it‘s ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
Conductivity. As to zinc‘s electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ?C is 5.96 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.65. The thermal conductivity of zinc is 116 W m-1 K-1. Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for zinc are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
|
Formula | Atomic Number | Molecular Weight | Electronegativity (Pauling) | Density | Melting Point | Boiling Point | Vanderwaals radius | Ionic radius | Energy of first ionization |
Zn | 30 | 65.37 g.mol -1 | 1.6 | 7.11 g.cm-3 at 20 °C | 420 °C | 907 °C | 139.pm | 0.074 nm (+2) | 906.41 kJ.mol-1 |