Plutonium 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.
Plutonium is a Block F, Group 3, Period 7 element. The electronic configuration is [Rn] 5f6 7s2. In its elemental form plutonium's CAS number is 7440-07-5. The plutonium atom has a radius of 151.3.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Plutonium was discovered by Glenn T. Seaborg, Edwin M. McMillan, J. W. Kennedy and A. C. Wahl in 1940.
Plutonium Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of plutonium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope. |
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PlutoniumIsotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
Pu-239 |
239.052157 |
- |
Pu-244 |
244.064198 |
- |
Plutonium Safety Data.
The safety data for plutonium 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 plutonium (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 |
581.44 kJ mol-1 |
2nd Ionization Energy |
- kJ mol-1 |
3rd Ionization Energy |
- kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to
plutonium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured in terms of electrical resistivity @
20 ºC is 150 µOcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is
1.3. The thermal conductivity of
plutonium is 6.74 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties of Plutonium. The melting point and boiling point for plutonium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization. |
Heat of Fusion |
2.8 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Vaporization |
343.5 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Atomization |
348 kJ mol-1 |
| Formula | Atomic Number | Molecular Weight | Electronegativity (Pauling) | Density | Melting Point | Boiling Point |
Vanderwaals radius |
Ionic radius | Energy of first ionization |
| Pu | 94 | 944 g.mol -1 | 1.28 | 19.816 g/L | 639.4 °C | 3228 °C | .200 nm | 151.3 pm | 581.44 kJ.mol-1 |
| PRODUCT CATALOG | U.S. Operations | Submicron & Nanopowder | Tolling | Ultra High Purity | Sputtering Target | Crystal Growth | Rod, Plate, Powder, etc. | Foil |
