This is a temporary page created for the sole purpose of converting the current Zinc article over to the new format agreed upon in Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Elements/Archive 1. When this process is complete the content in this page will be moved to the main article and any relevant edits made to that version will be incorporated into this version (this page will then be deleted from the database). For an example of what this article will look like when complete, please visit Beryllium, for a clean copy of the template used here please visit WikiProject Elements. See also periodic table to view the color scheme.
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| Name, Symbol, Number | Zinc, Zn, 30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chemical series | Transition metals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group, Period, Block | 12 , 4 , d | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Density, Hardness | 7140 kg/m3, 2.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearance | blueish pale grey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic Properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic weight | 65.409 amu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atomic radius (calc.) | 135 (142) pm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Covalent radius | 131 pm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| van der Waals radius | 139 pm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electron configuration | [Ar]3d104s2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| e- 's per energy level | 2, 8, 18, 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oxidation states (Oxide) | 2 (amphoteric) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crystal structure | hexagonal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Physical Properties | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| State of matter | solid (__) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Melting point | 692.68 K (787.15 °F) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boiling point | 1180 K (1665 °F) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Molar volume | 9.16 ×10-3 m3/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of vaporization | 115.3 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heat of fusion | 7.322 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vapor pressure | 192.2 Pa at 692.73 K | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Velocity of sound | 3700 m/s at 293.15 K | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electronegativity | 1.65 (Pauling scale) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specific heat capacity | 390 J/(kg*K) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrical conductivity | 16.6 106/m ohm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thermal conductivity | 116 W/(m*K) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st ionization potential | 906.4 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd ionization potential | 1733.3 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd ionization potential | 3833 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th ionization potential | 5731 kJ/mol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most Stable Isotopes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| SI units & STP are used except where noted. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Zinc is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30.
Notable Characteristics
Zinc is a metal, mined in Vieille Montagne and Zinkgruvan, used in the process of galvanizing steel. It is moderately reactive as metals go, will combine with oxygen and other non-metals, and will react with dilute acids to release hydrogen gas. It is the fourth most common metal in use, trailing only iron, aluminum, and copper in tons of metal produced per year.
The one common oxidation state of zinc is +2.
Applications
- Zinc is used in alloys such as brass, nickel silver, typewriter metal, various solder formulas, German silver, etc.
- Brass, in turn, has wide application because of its strength and corrosion resistance.
- Zinc is used in die castings, especially by the automobile industry.
- Zinc is used to galvanize metals to prevent their corrosion.
- Rolled zinc is used as part of the containers of batteries.
- Zinc oxide is used as a white pigment in watercolors and paints.
- Zinc chloride is used as a deodorant and as a wood preservative.
- Zinc sulfide is used in luminescent pigments, for making the hands of clocks and other items that glow in the dark.
- Zinc methyl (Zn(CH3)2) is used in a number of organic syntheses.
- Lotions made of calamine, (depending on the reference, either largely zinc oxide or a mix of Zn-(hydroxy-)carbonates and silicates), are used to treat skin rash.
History
Zinc alloys have been used for centuries, as brass goods dating to 1000-1400 BCE have been found in Palestine and zinc objects with 87% zinc have been found in prehistoric Transylvania. Smelting and extraction of impure forms of zinc was being accomplished as early as 1000 AD in India and China. In the West, the discovery of pure metallic zinc is either credited to Henkel in 1421, or credited to the German Andreas Marggraf, in the year 1746.
The word "zink", as a term, was originally used by Löhneyes in 1697.
Before the discovery of the zinc sulfide flotation technique, calamines were the source of zinc metal.
Biological Role
Zinc is an essential element in human beings, necessary for sustaining life. Deficiencies of zinc have marked effects on weight gain in animals. Zinc is found in insulin, zinc finger proteins, and such enzymes as superoxide dismutase.
Occurrence
Zinc is the 23rd most abundant element in the earth's crust. The most heavily mined ores tend to contain roughly 10% as well as 40-50% zinc. Minerals from which zinc is extracted include sphalerite, zinc blende, smithsonite, calamine, and franklinite.
Compounds
Zinc oxide is perhaps the best known and most widely used zinc compound, as it makes a good base for white pigments in paint. A variety of other zinc compounds find use industrially, such as zinc chloride (in deoderants), zinc sulfide (in luminescent paints), and zinc methyl in the organic laboratory.
Isotopes
Naturally occurring zinc is composed of the 4 stable isotopes Zn-64, Zn-66, Zn-67, and Zn-68 with 64 being the most abundant (48.6% natural abundance). 22 radioisotopes have been characterized with the most {abundant and/or stable} being Zn-65 with a half-life of 244.26 days, and Zn-72 with a half-life of 46.5 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lifes that are less than 14 hours and the majority of these have half lifes that are less than 1 second. This element also has 4 meta states.
Precautions
Metallic zinc is not considered to be toxic, but there is a condition called zinc shakes or zinc chills that can be induced by the inhalation of freshly formed zinc oxide.
External Links
External links used only for conversion (please delete before pasting into main article)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory -Zinc
- USGS zinc Statistics and Information
- http://dict.org (input the name of the element)
Notes
- Even though this text was paid for by CA State and US Federal tax dollars, it may be covered by a semi-proprietary license held by the UC Regents and therefore needs to be slightly rewritten so that it passes the Google test (specifically they don't allow for commercial redistribution without permission which is not compatible with our license). The UC Regents claims copyright on most texts at LANL and the 3 emails I sent to them requesting the status of the perio text were never answered. In addition, the LANL periodic table hasn't been touched since 1997 but it has won several awards. --mav
- This is public ___domain material and can be copied verbatim but it isn't available for every element. The text may also be under a different name. They sometimes combine entries, such as iron and steel. If nothing comes up, then look for the element at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/ .
- These databases are covered by more or less public ___domain licenses. The main thing that is asked for is some attribution (which isn't mandatory but would be nice to have on talk pages). This material is useful when creating the definition/introduction paragraphs.
- This is public ___domain isotope info and can be copied verbatim but it is very technical and usually only the first paragraph or two are useable at all (the focus of the USGS perio table is hydrology and we needn't fill our perio table with material that is that specialized). Not all elements are included in this source. Several months ago I ported over all the elements that they then had. Since then, however, they seem to have either added more elements to their database or I somehow missed some. --mav