Osmium , 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. 

Osmium has the highest melting point and the lowest vapor pressure of any of the platinum group of metals. Osmium tetroxide has recently been used to detect fingerprints and as an aid to stain fatty tissue for microscope slides. The metal is almost entirely used to produce very hard alloys with other metals of the platinum group. Osmium is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder.

 Osmium 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. Ruthenium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.

Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for suchuses 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. Osmium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries. 

Osmium is a Block D, Group 8, Period 6 element. The number of electrons in each of Osmium‘s shells is 2, 8, 18, 32, 14, 2 and its electronic configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d6 6s2. In its elemental form osmium‘s CAS number is 7440-04-2. The osmium atom has a radius of 133.8.pm and it‘s Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Osmium tetroxide (OsO4) can cause eye, lung and skin damage which makes it very toxic. 

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 Osmium 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. 

Osmium, the least abundant stable element in the earth‘s crust, is found in the alloys osmiridium and iridiosmium and as an uncombined element. Osmium was first discovered by Smithson Tennant in 1803. The origin of the name Osmium comes from the Greek word osme meaning a smell or odor.

Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of hafnium and each of its naturally occurringisotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope. Isotope Atomic Mass % Abundance on Earth Os-184 183.952491 0.02 Os-186 185.953838 1.58 Os-187 186.955748 1.6 Os-188 187.955836 13.3 Os-189 188.958145 16.1 Os-190 189.958445 26.4 Os-192 191.961479 41.0 The following table shows the abundance of Osmium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:   Typical Human Body Universe by Weight no data 3 ppb by Atom no data 0.02 ppb Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for osmium 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. Osmium compounds have no biological role.  Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for osmium (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: 1st Ionization Energy 814.17 kJ mol-1 2nd Ionization Energy - kJ mol-1 3rd Ionization Energy - kJ mol-1 Conductivity. As to osmium‘s electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ?C is 9.5 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 2.2. The thermal conductivity of osmium is 87.6 W m-1 K-1.  Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for osmium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization. Heat of Fusion 29.3 kJ mol-1 Heat of Vaporization 738.06 kJ mol-1 Heat of Atomization 791 kJ mol-1

Formula	Atomic Number	Molecular Weight	Electronegativity (Pauling)	Density	Melting Point	Boiling Point	Vanderwaals radius	Ionic radius	Energy of first ionization
Os	76	190.2 g.mol -1	2.2	22.5 g.cm-3 at 20 °C	3045 °C	5027 °C	200.pm	0.067 nm (+4)	814.17 kJ.mol-1