zinc

• Description
• General information
• Physical data
• Radii
• Electronegativities
• Solid state structure
• Temperatures
• Enthalpies
• Ionization Enthalpies
• Isotopes
• Further information

Description

Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous metal. It is brittle at ordinary temperatures but malleable at 100 to 150°C. It is a reasonable conductor of electricity, and burns in air at high red heat with evolution of white clouds of the oxide.

Zinc-deficient animals require 50% more food to gain the same weight of an animal supplied with adequate amounts of zinc. Zinc is not particularly toxic. Zinc is an essential element in the growth of human beings and animals.

Plating thin layers of zinc on to iron or steel is known as galvanising and helps to protect the iron from corrosion.

General information

Discoveror: Andreas Marggraf
Date discovered: 1500
Discovered at: Germany
Meaning of name: From the German word "zink"

Physical data

Standard state: solid at 298 K
Colour: bluish pale grey
Density of solid at ambient temperature/kg m^-3: 7140
Molar volume/cm³: 9.16

Radii /pm

Atomic: 142
Covalent (single bond):
Pauling radius for the ion [Zn]^-: no data

Valence shell orbital radius maxima (R_max)

orbital	s	p	d	f
radius	120.0	no data	30.4	no data

Electronegativities

Both values are quoted on the Pauling scale.

Pauling: 1.65
Allred Rochow: 1.66

Crystal Structure

structure: hcp (hexagonal close-packed)

The following CrystalMaker image represents the solid state structure. For most elements, the most stable allotrope is illustrated. Try WebElements version 2 for interactive virtual reality and CHIME images.

Temperatures (/K)

melting point: 692.68
boiling point: 1180

Enthalpies /kJ mol^-1

fusion: 7.32
vaporization: 119

single bond enthalpies:

Zn-F	Zn-Cl	Zn-Br	Zn-I	Zn-Zn
no data	no data	no data	no data	29

Ionization enthalpies /kJ mol^-1

Number	Enthalpy
1st	906.4
2nd	1733.3
3rd	3832.7
4th	5730
5th	7970
6th	10400
7th	12900
8th	16800

Isotopes

This section gives some data for naturally occurring isotopes.

Nominal mass	Accurate mass	% natural abundance
64Zn	63.9291448 (19)	48.6 (3)
66Zn	65.9260347 (17)	27.9 (2)
67Zn	66.9271291 (17)	4.1 (1)
68Zn	67.9248459 (18)	18.8 (4)
70Zn	69.925325 (4)	0.6 (1)

Further Information

• Additional information about WebElements 1.2.2
• This is a licensed copy (here is the full list) of WebElements 1.2.2 and contains a subset of the material contained within the main version of WebElements (version 2)
• For further information please try WebElements version 2
• Sheffield Chemdex: perhaps the largest internet chemistry directory
• Sheffield Chemputer: interactive chemistry calculators on the WWW