Introduction
Group: 15 or V A
Atomic Weight: 208.98038
Period: 6
CAS Number: 7440-69-9
Classification
No Stable Isotopes
Solid
Liquid
Gas
Solid (Predicted)
Description • Uses/Function
In early times bismuth was confused with tin and lead. Claude Geoffroy the Younger showed it to be distinct fromlead 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(Bi2S3) and bismite (Bi2O3). Peru, Japan, Mexico, Bolivia, and Canada are major bismuth producers. Much of the bismuth produced in the U.S. isobtained as a by-product in refining lead, copper, tin, silver, and gold ores. Bismuth is the most diamagnetic of all metals, and the thermal conductivityis 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 electricalresistance when placed in a magnetic field). “Bismanol” is a permanent magnet of high coercive force, made of MnBi, by the U.S. Naval SurfaceWeapons Center. Bismuth expands 3.32% on solidification. This property makes bismuth alloys particularly suited to the making of sharp castingsof objects subject to damage by high temperatures. With other metals such as tin, cadmium, etc., bismuth forms low-melting alloys which areextensively used for safety devices in fire detection and extinguishing systems. Bismuth is used in producing malleable irons and is finding use as acatalyst 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 usedas a thermocouple material, and has found application as a carrier for U235 or U233 fuel in atomic reactors. Its soluble salts are characterized by forminginsoluble 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. Natural bismuth contains only one isotope 209Bi. Forty one isotopes and isomers of bismuthare known. Bismuth metal costs about $90/kg (99.999%). 1
Physical Properties
Melting Point:2* 271.40 °C = 544.55 K = 520.52 °F
Electron Configuration: [Xe] 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p3
n = 6
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):4 1.9
Specific Heat: 0.122 J/g°C 8 = 25.496 J/mol°C = 0.029 cal/g°C = 6.094 cal/mol°C
Earth - Source Compounds: sulfides 15
External Links:
(1) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:5-4:6.
Boiling Point:2* 1564 °C = 1837.15 K = 2847.2 °F
Sublimation Point:2
Triple Point:2
Critical Point:2
Density:3 9.79 g/cm3
* - at 1 atm
Electron Configuration
Block: p
Highest Occupied Energy Level: 6
Valence Electrons: 5
Quantum Numbers:
ℓ = 1
mℓ = 1
ms = +½
Bonding
Electropositivity (Pauling scale): 2.1
Electron Affinity:5 0.946 eV
Oxidation States: +3,5
Work Function:6 4.36 eV = 6.98472E-19 J
Ionization Potential
eV 7
kJ/mol
1
7.2856
703.0
2
16.69
1610.3
Ionization Potential
eV 7
kJ/mol
3
25.56
2466.2
4
45.3
4370.8
Ionization Potential
eV 7
kJ/mol
5
56
5403.2
6
88.3
8519.7
Thermochemistry
Thermal Conductivity: 7.87 (W/m)/K, 27°C 9
Heat of Fusion: 11.3 kJ/mol 10 = 54.1 J/g
Heat of Vaporization: 104.8 kJ/mol 11 = 501.5 J/g
State of Matter
Enthalpy of Formation (ΔHf°)12
Entropy (S°)12
Gibbs Free Energy (ΔGf°)12
(kcal/mol)
(kJ/mol)
(cal/K)
(J/K)
(kcal/mol)
(kJ/mol)
(s)
0
0
13.56
56.73504
0
0
(g)
49.5
207.108
44.67
186.89928
40.2
168.1968
Isotopes
Nuclide
Mass 13
Half-Life 13
Nuclear Spin 13
Binding Energy
184Bi
184.00112(14)#
6.6(15) ms
3+#
1,420.19 MeV
185Bi
184.99763(6)#
2# ms
9/2-#
1,437.57 MeV
186Bi
185.99660(8)
14.8(7) ms
(3+)
1,445.64 MeV
187Bi
186.993158(16)
32(3) ms
9/2-#
1,453.71 MeV
188Bi
187.99227(5)
44(3) ms
3+#
1,461.79 MeV
189Bi
188.98920(6)
674(11) ms
(9/2-)
1,479.17 MeV
190Bi
189.9883(2)
6.3(1) s
(3+)
1,487.24 MeV
191Bi
190.985786(8)
12.3(3) s
(9/2-)
1,495.31 MeV
192Bi
191.98546(4)
34.6(9) s
(3+)
1,503.39 MeV
193Bi
192.98296(1)
67(3) s
(9/2-)
1,511.46 MeV
194Bi
193.98283(5)
95(3) s
(3+)
1,519.53 MeV
195Bi
194.980651(6)
183(4) s
(9/2-)
1,527.60 MeV
196Bi
195.980667(26)
5.1(2) min
(3+)
1,535.67 MeV
197Bi
196.978864(9)
9.33(50) min
(9/2-)
1,553.06 MeV
198Bi
197.97921(3)
10.3(3) min
(2+,3+)
1,561.13 MeV
199Bi
198.977672(13)
27(1) min
9/2-
1,569.20 MeV
200Bi
199.978132(26)
36.4(5) min
7+
1,577.27 MeV
201Bi
200.977009(16)
108(3) min
9/2-
1,585.34 MeV
202Bi
201.977742(22)
1.72(5) h
5(+#)
1,593.41 MeV
203Bi
202.976876(23)
11.76(5) h
9/2-
1,601.49 MeV
204Bi
203.977813(28)
11.22(10) h
6+
1,609.56 MeV
205Bi
204.977389(8)
15.31(4) d
9/2-
1,617.63 MeV
206Bi
205.978499(8)
6.243(3) d
6(+)
1,625.70 MeV
207Bi
206.9784707(26)
32.9(14) a
9/2-
1,633.77 MeV
208Bi
207.9797422(25)
3.68(4)E+5 a
(5)+
1,641.84 MeV
209Bi
208.9803987(16)
1.9(2)E+19 a
9/2-
1,640.60 MeV
210Bi
209.9841204(16)
5.012(5) d
1-
1,648.67 MeV
211Bi
210.987269(6)
2.14(2) min
9/2-
1,656.74 MeV
212Bi
211.9912857(21)
60.55(6) min
1(-)
1,655.50 MeV
213Bi
212.994385(5)
45.59(6) min
9/2-
1,663.57 MeV
214Bi
213.998712(12)
19.9(4) min
1-
1,671.64 MeV
215Bi
215.001770(16)
7.6(2) min
(9/2-)
1,670.40 MeV
216Bi
216.006306(12)
2.17(5) min
1-#
1,678.47 MeV
217Bi
217.00947(21)#
98.5(8) s
9/2-#
1,686.54 MeV
218Bi
218.01432(39)#
33(1) s
1-#
1,685.30 MeV
Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses. 13
Reactions
Abundance
Earth - Seawater: 0.00002 mg/L 16
Earth -
Crust:
0.0085 mg/kg = 0.00000085% 16
Earth -
Total:
2.94 ppb 17
Mercury -
Total:
0.034 ppb 17
Venus -
Total:
3.08 ppb 17
Chondrites - Total: 0.002 (relative to 106 atoms of Si) 18
Compounds
bismuth subgallate; 2,7-dihydroxy-1,3,2-benzodioxabismole-5-carboxylic acid
bismuth(III) arsenate
bismuth(III) bromide
bismuth(III) chloride
bismuth(III) citrate
bismuth(III) fluoride; bismuth trifluoride
bismuth(III) formate
bismuth(III) hydride
bismuth(III) hydroxide
bismuth(III) iodide
Prices
Safety Information
Material Safety Data Sheet - ACI Alloys, Inc.
For More Information
American Elements
Chemical & Engineering News
Chemical Elements
ChemGlobe
Chemicool
Environmental Chemistry
Sources
(2) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:132.
(3) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 84th ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:39-4:96.
(4) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1973; p 4:8-4:149.
(5) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 84th ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10:147-10:148.
(6) - Speight, James. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 16th ed.; McGraw-Hill Professional: Boston, MA, 2004; p 1:132.
(7) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10:178 - 10:180.
(8) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:133.
(9) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:193, 12:219-220.
(10) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:123-6:137.
(11) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:107-6:122.
(12) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 12th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1979; p 9:4-9:94.
(13) - Atomic Mass Data Center. http://amdc.in2p3.fr/web/nubase_en.html (accessed July 14, 2009).
(14) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill: Boston, MA, 2006; p 128.
(15) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 965.
(16) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 14:17.
(17) - Morgan, John W. and Anders, Edward, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 6973-6977 (1980)
(18) - Brownlow, Arthur. Geochemistry; Prentice-Hall, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979, pp 15-16.