Bismuth information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
Bismuth is the most diamagnetic of all metals, and the thermal conductivity is 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 electrical resistance when placed in a magnetic field). Bismuth expands on solidification. This property makes bismuth alloys particularly suited to the making of sharp castings of objects subject to damage by high temperatures. With other metals such as tin, cadmium , etc., bismuth forms low-melting alloys which are extensively used for safety devices in fire detection and extinguishing systems. Bismuth is used in producing malleable irons and is finding use as a catalyst 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 used as a thermocoupling material, and has found application as a carrier for 235 U or 233 U fuel in nuclear reactors. Its soluble salts are characterized by forming unsoluble basic salts on the addition of water, a property sometimes used in detection work. Bismuth oxychloride is used extensively in cosmetics. Bismuth nitrate and carbonate are used in medicine. Bismuth is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. Bismuth is also used in various metal alloys (See AE Alloys). Bismuth facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are
Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Bismuth is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries. Bismuth is a Block P, Group 15, Period 6 element. The electronic configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p3. In its elemental form bismuth's CAS number is 7440-69-9. The bismuth atom has a radius of 154.5.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm.All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology advantages. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Bismuth compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis. Bismuth was first discovered by Early Man.
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of bismuth and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope. |
Bismuth 
Bismut
Bismuto
Bismuto
Bismuto
Vismut Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
Bi-209 |
208.980383 |
100 |
Safety Data. The safety data for bismuth metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for bismuth (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table: |
1st Ionization Energy |
702.96 kJ mol-1 |
2nd Ionization Energy |
1610.35 kJ mol-1 |
3rd Ionization Energy |
2466.18 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to bismuth's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 106.8 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.9. The thermal conductivity of bismuth is 7.87 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for bismuth are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization. |
Heat of Fusion |
10.48 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Vaporization |
179.1 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Atomization |
207.36 kJ mol-1 |
| Formula | Atomic Number | Molecular Weight | Electronegativity (Pauling) | Density | Melting Point | Boiling Point |
Vanderwaals radius |
Ionic radius | Energy of first ionization |
| Bi | 83 | 208.9804 g.mol -1 | 1.9 | 9.80 g.cm-3 at 20 °C | 271 °C | 1420 °C | 200.pm | 0.074 nm (+5) ; 0.120 (+3) | 702.96 kJ.mol-1 |
| PRODUCT CATALOG | U.S. Operations | Submicron & Nanopowder | Tolling | Ultra High Purity | Sputtering Target | Crystal Growth | Rod, Plate, Powder, etc. | Foil |
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