Polonium

84

p

(209)
  • Name: Polonium
  • Symbol: p
  • Atomic number: 84
  • Atomic weight: (209)
  • CAS Registry ID: 7440-08-6
  • Group name: Chalcogen
  • Period number: 6
  • Block: p-block
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Description

Polonium is a metalloid that is silver colored solid in its natural solid state. Polonium is highly radioactive and extremely unstable. Polonium has an atomic weight of 209, a melting point of 489 °F, and a boiling point of 1764 °F. Polonium does not have many uses due to its radioactivity. Some of the few uses of polonium include: as an alloy for a source of neutrons, as an atomic heat source, and sometimes it is used as a poison.

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Isolation

Polonium is extremely rare, and it is normally only found and isolated in small amounts from ores which also contain uranium.

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The isolation process of polonium can never be carried out in a small scale laboratory setting as this element is extremely toxic and radioactive. Polonium is also very rare. Most isolation procedures are carried out from ore which contains bismuth and uranium. The bismuth and uranium are separated, and then the polonium must be separated from the bismuth. These processes are carried out through fractional distillation or through using silver and the process of electro-depositing to separate the bismuth from the polonium. Fractional distillation of these two elements relies of the different boiling points of the elements in order to heat them to temperatures in which one element is boiled off while the other element remains. Special compartments collect the gas of the vaporized element in order to condense the element back into a liquid and then solid state. Polonium can also be produced through neutron irradiation of the bismuth isotope 209.
General
Name Polonium
Symbol Po
Number 84
Chemical series metalloids
Group 16
Period 6
Block p
Appearance silvery
Standard atomic weight (209)  g·mol−1
Electron configuration [Xe] 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p4
Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 6
Atomic properties
Crystal structure cubic
Oxidation states 4, 2 (amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity 2.0 (scale Pauling)
Ionization energies 1st: 812.1 kJ/mol
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Atomic radius 190  pm
Atomic radius (calc.) 135  pm
Covalent radius
Van der Waals radius
Physical properties
Phase solid
Density (near r.t.) (alpha) 9.196  g·cm−3
Liquid density at m.p.
Melting point 527 K (254 °C, 489 °F)
Boiling point 1235 K (962 °C, 1764 °F)
Critical point
Heat of fusion ca. 13  kJ·mol−1
Heat of vaporization 102.91  kJ·mol−1
Heat capacity (25 °C) 26.4  J·mol−1·K−1
Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering nonmagnetic
Electrical resistivity (0 °C) (α) 0.40 µΩ·m
Thermal conductivity (300 K) ? 20  W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion (25 °C) 23.5  µm·m−1·K−1
Speed of sound (thin rod)
Young's modulus
Shear modulus
Bulk modulus
Poisson ratio
Mohs hardness
Vickers hardness
Brinell hardness
CAS registry number 7440-08-6

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