Cadmium 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.
 Cadmium is a component of some of the lowest melting alloys; it is used in bearing alloys with low coefficients of friction and great resistance to fatigue. Cadmium is used extensively in electroplating, which accounts for about 60% of its use. It is also used in many types of solder, for standard E.M.F. cells, for nickel-cadmium batteries, and as a barrier to control nuclear fission. Cadmium compounds are used in black and white television phosphors and in blue and green phosphors for color television tubes and CRT monitors. Cadmium in glass and ceramic glazes creates a distinctive cadmium yellow. It forms a number of compounds, of which the sulfate is most common; the sulfide is used as a yellow pigment. Cadmium is similar to carbon in that it has a capacity to form stable covalently bonded molecular networks. Cadmium is available as compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity).
Cadmium is also used in various metal alloys (See AE Alloys).
Cadmium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nanoparticles and nanopowders provide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits.
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. Cadmium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
Cadmium is a Block D, Group 12, Period 5 element. The number of electrons in each of Cadmium's shells is 2, 8, 18, 18, 2 and its electronic configuration is [Kr] 4d10 5s2. In its elemental form cadmium's CAS number is 7440-43-9. The cadmium atom has a radius of 148.9.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 158.pm.
 All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Cadmium 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.
Cadmium was first discovered by Fredrich Stromeyer in 1817.
The name Cadmium originates from the Latin word 'cadmia' and the Greek word 'kadmeia'.
 Cadmium |
 Cadmium |
 Cadmio |
 Cádmio |
 Cadmio |
 Kadmium |
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of cadmium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
| Cd-106 |
105.906458 |
1.25 |
| Cd-108 |
107.904183 |
0.89 |
| Cd-110 |
109.903006 |
12.49 |
| Cd-111 |
110.904182 |
12.80 |
| Cd-112 |
111.902757 |
24.13 |
| Cd-113 |
112.904401 |
12.22 |
| Cd-114 |
113.903358 |
28.73 |
| Cd-116 |
115.904755 |
7.49 |
The following table shows the abundance of Cadmium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
| |
Typical Human Body |
Universe |
| by Weight |
700 ppb |
2 ppb |
| by Atom |
39 ppb |
0.02 ppb |
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for cadmium 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. Cadmium compounds have no biological role.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for cadmium (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 |
867.78 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy |
1631.42 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy |
3616.30 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to cadmium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 6.83 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.69. The thermal conductivity of cadmium is 96.8 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for cadmium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion |
6.11 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
100 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
112.05 kJ mol-1 |
Recent Research & Development for CadmiumGadolinium chloride pretreatment ameliorates acute cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity.
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Toxicol Ind Health. 2011 Dec 15. [Epub ahead of print]
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In vitro-cultured wheat spikes provide a simplified alternative for studies of cadmium uptake in developing grains.
Ganeshan S, Leis M, Drinkwater JM, Madsen LT, Jain JC, Chibbar RN.
J Sci Food Agric. 2011 Dec 16. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.5540. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22173723
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Evaluation of physiological importance of metallothionein protein expressed by Tetrahymena cadmium metallothionein 1 (TMCd1) gene in Escherichia coli.
Suleman A, Shakoori AR.
J Cell Biochem. 2011 Dec 15. doi: 10.1002/jcb.24030. [Epub ahead of print]
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22173614
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Kinetic, Equilibrium and Thermodynamic Studies of Cadmium (II) Adsorption by Modified Agricultural Wastes.
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Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2011 Dec 8. [Epub ahead of print]
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Bauddh K, Singh RP.
J Environ Biol. 2011 May;32(3):355-62.
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[Cd uptake in rice cultivars and Cd fractions in soil treated with organic acids and EDTA].
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Huan Jing Ke Xue. 2011 Sep;32(9):2625-31. Chinese.
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Juang KW, Ho PC, Yu CH.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2011 Dec 9. [Epub ahead of print]
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22161300
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Cadmium a metalloestrogen: are we convinced?
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J Appl Toxicol. 2011 Dec 12. doi: 10.1002/jat.1771. [Epub ahead of print]
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Heterologous Expression of a Nelumbo nucifera Phytochelatin Synthase Gene Enhances Cadmium Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Liu Z, Gu C, Chen F, Yang D, Wu K, Chen S, Jiang J, Zhang Z.
Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2011 Dec 9. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22161260
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Low-affinity cation transporter (OsLCT1) regulates cadmium transport into rice grains.
Uraguchi S, Kamiya T, Sakamoto T, Kasai K, Sato Y, Nagamura Y, Yoshida A, Kyozuka J, Ishikawa S, Fujiwara T.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Dec 12. [Epub ahead of print]
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22160725
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Heavy metal contamination in feathers of Western Reef Heron (Egretta gularis) and Siberian gull (Larus heuglini) from Hara biosphere reserve of Southern Iran.
Mansouri B, Babaei H, Hoshyari E.
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Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2011 Dec 9. [Epub ahead of print]
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22160166
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Evaluation of genotoxic effects of lead in pottery-glaze workers using micronucleus assay, alkaline comet assay and DNA diffusion assay.
Kasuba V, Rozgaj R, Milic M, Zeljezic D, Kopjar N, Pizent A, Kljakovic-Gaspic Z, Jazbec A.
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