American Elements
   



Products
Potassium 2-Ethylhexanoate
Potassium Bromide
Potassium-40 Chloride Isotope
Potassium-41 Chloride Isotope
Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate
Potassium Fluoride
Potassium Hexabromoplatinate
Potassium Hexachloroplatinate
Potassium Oxalate
Potassium Perchlorate
Potassium Periodate
Potassium Persulfate
Potassium Tetrabromoplatinate
Potassium Tetrachloroplatinate
Potassium
Potassium 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.

Potassium is the seventh most abundant element on earth. In its metallic form it is one of the most reactive and electropositive of all metals and rapidly oxidizes. As with other metals of the alkali group, the metal decomposes in water with the evolution of hydrogen. It catches fire spontaneously in water. In high purity, potassium compounds have numerous pharmacological, medical, and electronics applications. Important compounds include the hydroxide, nitrate, carbonate, chloride, bromide, iodide, and sulfate. Lower purity compounds are used in pyrotechnics for its violet color on ignition and in glass and ceramic glazes to produce this color. Potassium also used as a nutrient in plant growth.

Potassium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are

 

  Hydrogen                                 Helium
  Lithium Beryllium                     Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
  Sodium Magnesium                     Aluminum Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
  Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Hydrogen Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
  Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
  Cesium Barium Cerium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
                                     
      Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium    
      Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawerencium    


(click on an element)
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. Potassium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.

Potassium is a Block S, Group 1, Period 4 element. The electronic configuration is [Ar] 4s1. In its elemental form potassium's CAS number is 7440-09-7. The potassium atom has a radius of 227.2 .pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 275.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 Potassium 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.

Potassium was first discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1807.

French potassium German Kalium Italian potassio Portuguese Potássio Spanish potasio Swedish Kalium

Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of potassium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.

Isotope
Atomic Mass
% Abundance on Earth
K-39
38.9637068
93.26
K-40
39.9639987
0.01
K-41
40.9618260
6.73

Safety Data. The safety data for potassium 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 potassium (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
418.81 kJ mol-1
2nd Ionization Energy
3051.85 kJ mol-1
3rd Ionization Energy
4419.64 kJ mol-1

Conductivity. As to potassium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 6.15 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 0.82. The thermal conductivity of potassium is 102 W m-1 K-1.

Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for potassium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.

Heat of Fusion
2.4 kJ mol-1
Heat of Vaporization
79.1 kJ mol-1
Heat of Atomization
90.14 kJ mol-1

 
Formula Atomic Number Molecular Weight Electronegativity (Pauling) Density Melting Point
Boiling Point
Vanderwaals radius
Ionic radius Energy of first ionization
K 19 39.0983 g.mol -1 0.8 0.86 g.cm-3 at 0 °C 63.2 °C 760 °C 275.pm 0.133 (+1) nm 418.81 kJ.mol-1

PRODUCT CATALOG U.S. Operations Submicron & Nanopowder Tolling Ultra High Purity Sputtering Target Crystal Growth Rod, Plate, Powder, etc. Foil
 
© 2001-2008. American Elements is a U.S. Registered Trademark. All rights reserved.
This website and all pages, designs, concepts, logos, and color schemes herein are
the copyrighted proprietary rights and intellectual property of American Elements.

 

Recent Research & Development for Potassium

  • Investigation of the biotransformation of pentachlorophenol and pulp paper mill effluent decolorisation by the bacterial strains in a mixed culture. Bioresour Technol. 2008 Sep;99(13):5703-9. Epub 2007 Nov 26.

  • Inhibitory effects of some derivatives of glycyrrhizic acid against Epstein-Barr virus infection: Structure-activity relationships. Antiviral Res. 2008 Jul;79(1):6-11. Epub 2008 Mar 31.

  • Radical scavenging activities of Rio Red grapefruits and Sour orange fruit extracts in different in vitro model systems. Bioresour Technol. 2008 Jul;99(10):4484-94. Epub 2007 Nov 1.

  • Effect of reactive substrates used for the removal of phosphorus from wastewater on the fertility of acid soils. Bioresour Technol. 2008 Jul;99(10):4308-14. Epub 2007 Oct 24.

  • Lectin histochemistry for in situ profiling of rat colon sialoglycoconjugates. Histol Histopathol. 2008 Jul;23(7):863-75.

  • Nutrient use and uptake in Pinus taeda. Tree Physiol. 2008 Jul;28(7):1083-98. PMID: 18450573 [PubMed - in process]7: Related Articles, LinksHalalay IC, Balogh MP. Sonochemical method for producing titanium metal powder. Ultrason Sonochem. 2008 Jul;15(5):684-8. Epub 2008 Jan 17.

  • Hydrolysis of iron and chromium fluorides: Mechanism and kinetics. J Hazard Mater. 2008 Jun 15;154(1-3):135-45. Epub 2007 Oct 6.

  • Potassium channel antibody-associated encephalitis with hypothalamic lesions and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. J Neurol Sci. 2008 Jun 15;269(1-2):176-9. Epub 2008 Apr 1.

  • A performance comparison of nine selected liquid scintillation cocktails. Appl Radiat Isot. 2008 June - July;66(6-7):1038-1042. Epub 2008 Feb 12.

  • Changes in salivary composition in patients with renal failure. Arch Oral Biol. 2008 Jun;53(6):528-32. Epub 2008 Feb 21.

  • Reversible electronic nanoswitch based on DNA G-quadruplex conformation: A platform for single-step, reagentless potassium detection. Biomaterials. 2008 Jun;29(17):2689-96. Epub 2008 Mar 20.

  • Effect of potassium citrate salts on the vapor-liquid equilibrium properties of aqueous solutions of alanine at different temperatures. Biophys Chem. 2008 Jun;135(1-3):116-24. Epub 2008 Apr 10.

  • Kinetics of phosphorus and potassium release from rock phosphate and waste mica enriched compost and their effect on yield and nutrient uptake by wheat (Triticum aestivum). Bioresour Technol. 2008 Jun;99(9):3342-53. Epub 2007 Oct 1.

  • The effect of a dietary supplement of potassium chloride or potassium citrate on blood pressure in predominantly normotensive volunteers. Br J Nutr. 2008 Jun;99(6):1284-92. Epub 2007 Dec 6.

  • Chromium stress induced alterations in biochemical and enzyme metabolism in aquatic and terrestrial plants. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2008 Jun 1;63(2):159-63. Epub 2007 Dec 4.

  • Effect of Antimicrobial Peptides Divergicin M35 and Nisin A on Listeria monocytogenes LSD530 Potassium Channels. Curr Microbiol. 2008 Jun;56(6):609-12. Epub 2008 Apr 1.

  • Effects of a mixture of vegetable and essential oils and fatty acid potassium salts on Tetranychus urticae and Phytoseiulus persimilis. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2008 Jun;70(2):276-82. Epub 2007 Nov 26.

  • Hypokalemic paralysis is not just a hypokalemic paralysis. Eur J Emerg Med. 2008 Jun;15(3):150-3.

  • Biogeography of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes in river floodplains. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2008 Jun;64(3):395-406.

 

 

 

 

American Elements Products can also be sourced at these sites: