Osmium
| General properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name, symbol | Osmium, Os | ||||
| Appearance | Silvery, bluish cast | ||||
| Osmium in the periodic table | |||||
| |||||
| Atomic number | 76 | ||||
| Standard atomic weight (Ar) | 190.23(3) | ||||
| Group, block | , d-block | ||||
| Period | period 6 | ||||
| Electron configuration | [Xe] 4f14 5d6 6s2 | ||||
per shell | 2, 8, 18, 32, 14, 2 | ||||
| Physical properties | |||||
| Silvery with bluish cast | |||||
| Phase | Solid | ||||
| Melting point | 3306 K (3033 °C, 5491 °F) | ||||
| Boiling point | 5285 K (5012 °C, 9054 °F) | ||||
| Density near r.t. | 22.59 g/cm3 | ||||
| when liquid, at | 20 g/cm3 | ||||
| Heat of fusion | 31 kJ/mol | ||||
| Heat of | 378 kJ/mol | ||||
| Molar heat capacity | 24.7 J/(mol·K) | ||||
| pressure | |||||
| Atomic properties | |||||
| Oxidation states | 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, −1, −2, −4 (a mildly acidic oxide) | ||||
| Electronegativity | Pauling scale: 2.2 | ||||
| energies |
1st: 840 kJ/mol 2nd: 1600 kJ/mol | ||||
| Atomic radius | empirical: 135 pm | ||||
| Covalent radius | 144±4 pm | ||||
| Miscellanea | |||||
| Crystal structure | Hexagonal close-packed (hcp) | ||||
| Speed of sound thin rod | 4940 m/s (at 20 °C) | ||||
| Thermal expansion | 5.1 µm/(m·K) (at 25 °C) | ||||
| Thermal conductivity | 87.6 W/(m·K) | ||||
| Electrical resistivity | 81.2·10-9 Ω·m (at 0 °C) | ||||
| Magnetic ordering | Paramagnetic | ||||
| Shear modulus | 222 GPa | ||||
| Bulk modulus | 462 GPa | ||||
| Poisson ratio | 0.25 | ||||
| Mohs hardness | 7.0 | ||||
| Brinell hardness | 3490–4000 MPa | ||||
| CAS Registry Number | 7440-04-2 | ||||
| Discovery and first isolation | Smithson Tennant (1803) | ||||
Osmium is the chemical element with symbol Os and atomic number 76.
Contents
Properties
Chemical properties
Osmium forms compounds with oxidation state from -2 to 8. It is slightly attacked by aqua regia, and by fuming nitric acid, and it is attacked by molten hydroxides. It forms the toxic osmium tetroxide (OsO4), the most common compound with +8 oxidation state, in contact with air, though bulk metal is less prone to forming the oxide than the powder. A lower oxide, osmium dioxide, is known. It forms coordination complexes easily.
Physical properties
Osmium is a hard, brittle, white-bluish transition metal and usually is found in traces in platinum ores. It is the densest non-radioactive element known, with a density of 22.6 g/cm3 (22.59 g/cm3 according to most sources), slightly denser than iridium. It's almost twice as dense as lead. It melts at 3033 ºC, which makes it unfeasible for the amateur chemist to cast.
Availability
Osmium is one of the rarest elements so it is quite expensive. It can be bought online from Metallium and sometimes from eBay.
Projects
- Osmium tetroxide synthesis (Dangerous! Toxic!)
- Organoosmium compounds
- Element collection
Handling
Safety
Osmium metal poses very little toxicity as it does not react with most reagents. Osmium powder, however, will slowly oxidize in air to form osmium tetroxide, which is toxic and a powerful oxidant. Osmium powder is also known to be pyrophoric. The bulk metal, however, is safe to keep in air.
Storage
Bulk osmium does not require any special storage. Osmium powder should be kept in closed containers, in a well ventilated area, preferable under a gas other than air (such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, etc.).
Disposal
Due to osmium's high price, it's best to try and recycle it as much as possible.
