| Sulfur 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.
 Sulfur is a crucial element for all life and serves as both fuels and respiratory (oxygen-replacing) materials for simple organisms. In nature, sulfur can be found in hot springs, meteorites, volcanoes, and as galena, gypsum, Epsom salts, and barite. Sulfur, when organically bonded, is a component of all proteins, as the amino acids methionine and cysteine. In organic form, Sulfur is present in the vitamins thiamine and biotin. Sulfur is also a vital part of many enzymes and also in antioxidant molecules like glutathione and thioredoxin.Sulfur is available as compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity).
Sulfur facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and
properties areavailable 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. Carbon is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
 Sulfur is a Block P, Group 16, Period 3 element. The number of electrons in each of Sulfur's shells is 2, 8, 6 and its electronic configuration is [Ne]3s2 3p4. In its elemental form sulfur's CAS number is 7704-34-9. The sulfur atom has a radius of 100pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 180pm.
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 Carbon 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.
Sulfur has been known since ancient times but was not accepted as an element until 1777. Antoine Lavoisier helped to convince the scientific commuity that sulfus is an element and not a compound.
 Soufre |
 Schwefel |
 Di zolfo |
 Enxofre |
 De azufre |
 Svavel |
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of sulfur and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
| S-32 |
31.97207070 |
94393 |
| S-33 |
32.97145843 |
0.76 |
| S-34 |
33.96786665 |
4.29 |
| S-36 |
35.96708062 |
0.02 |
The following table shows the abundance of Sulfur 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 |
2000000 ppb |
500000 ppb |
| by Atom |
390000 ppb |
20000 ppb |
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for sulfur 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. Carbon compounds play a key biological role in all life and is present by definition in all organic compounds.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for sulfur (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 |
999.6 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy |
2251 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy |
3360.6 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to sulfur's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 2×1015 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 2.58. The thermal conductivity of carbon is 0.205W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for sulfur are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion |
1.7175 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
9.8 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
279 kJ mol-1 |
Recent Research & Development for Sulfur
Self-assembly of a sulphur-terminated graphene nanoribbon within a single-walled carbon nanotube.
Chuvilin A, Bichoutskaia E, Gimenez-Lopez MC, Chamberlain TW, Rance GA, Kuganathan N, Biskupek J, Kaiser U, Khlobystov AN.
Nat Mater. 2011 Aug 7. doi: 10.1038/nmat3082. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21822259
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the yeast tRNA-thiouridine modification protein 1 (Tum1p).
Qiu R, Wang F, Liu M, Yang Z, Wu T, Ji C.
Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun. 2011 Aug 1;67(Pt 8):953-5. Epub 2011 Jul 27.
PMID:
21821903
[PubMed - in process]
Characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis L-isoleucine dioxygenase toward the production of useful amino acids.
Hibi M, Kawashima T, Kodera T, Smirnov SV, Sokolov PM, Sugiyama M, Shimizu S, Yokozeki K, Ogawa J.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011 Aug 5. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21821743
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Characterization of the sulfurtransferase family from Oryza sativa L.
Guretzki S, Papenbrock J.
Plant Physiol Biochem. 2011 Jul 23. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21821426
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Development of a small-scale bioreactor method to monitor the molecular diversity and environmental impacts of bacterial biofilm communities from an acid mine drainage impacted creek.
Cole M, Wrubel J, Henegan P, Janzen C, Holt J, Tobin T.
J Microbiol Methods. 2011 Jul 28. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21821067
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
In situ incorporation of nickel nanoparticles into the mesopores of MCM-41 by manipulation of solvent-solute interaction and its activity toward adsorptive desulfurization of gas oil.
Samadi-Maybodi A, Teymouri M, Vahid A, Miranbeigi A.
J Hazard Mater. 2011 Jul 6. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21820806
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Stearoyl-CoA desaturase is an essential enzyme for the parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei.
Alloatti A, Gupta S, Gualdrón-López M, Nguewa PA, Altabe SG, Deumer G, Wallemacq P, Michels PA, Uttaro AD.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2011 Jul 28. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21820408
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
The use of multi-element stable isotope analysis to monitor the origin of chondroitin sulfates.
Thomas F, Jamin E, Shimoo K, Nagao J, Osaki Y, Granier C.
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2011 Sep 15;25(17):2533-7. doi: 10.1002/rcm.5159.
PMID:
21818814
[PubMed - in process]
Sulphur isotopes in animal hair track distance to sea.
Zazzo A, Monahan FJ, Moloney AP, Green S, Schmidt O.
Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2011 Sep 15;25(17):2371-8. doi: 10.1002/rcm.5131.
PMID:
21818798
[PubMed - in process]
Experimental and Theoretical Evidence of Aromatic Behavior in Heterobenzene-Like Molecules with Metal-Metal Multiple Bonds.
Fang W, He Q, Tan ZF, Liu CY, Lu X, Murillo CA.
Chemistry. 2011 Aug 4. doi: 10.1002/chem.201003693. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21818792
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Rhodovulum phaeolacus sp. nov. a phototrophic alphaproteobacterium isolated from a brown pond.
Venkata Naga Satya Lakshmi K, Sasikala C, Venkata Ramana V, Veera Venkata Ramaprasad E, Venkata Ramana C.
J Gen Appl Microbiol. 2011;57(3):145-51.
PMID:
21817826
[PubMed - in process]
Comparative data on effects of leading pretreatments and enzyme loadings and formulations on sugar yields from different switchgrass sources.
Wyman CE, Balan V, Dale BE, Elander RT, Falls M, Hames B, Holtzapple MT, Ladisch MR, Lee YY, Mosier N, Pallapolu VR, Shi J, Thomas SR, Warner RE.
Bioresour Technol. 2011 Jun 21. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21816612
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Target loads of atmospheric sulfur deposition for the protection and recovery of acid-sensitive streams in the Southern Blue Ridge Province.
Sullivan TJ, Cosby BJ, Jackson WA.
J Environ Manage. 2011 Aug 2. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21816535
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Differential effects of a post-anthesis fertilizer regimen on the wheat flour proteome determined by quantitative 2-DE.
Altenbach SB, Tanaka CK, Hurkman WJ, Whitehand LC, Vensel WH, Dupont FM.
Proteome Sci. 2011 Aug 4;9(1):46. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21816081
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Comparative toxicity of arsenic metabolites in human bladder cancer EJ-1 cells.
Naranmandura H, Michael CW, Xu S, Lee J, Leslie E, Weinfeld M, Le XC.
Chem Res Toxicol. 2011 Aug 4. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21815631
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
The Effects of Different Garlic-derived Allyl Sulfides on Peroxidative Processes and Anaerobic Sulfur Metabolism in Mouse Liver.
Iciek MB, Kowalczyk-Pachel D, Kwiecien I, Dudek MB.
Phytother Res. 2011 Aug 4. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3572. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21815229
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
A combined model of hepatic polyamine and sulfur amino acid metabolism to analyze S-adenosyl methionine availability.
Reyes-Palomares A, Montañez R, Sánchez-Jiménez F, Medina MA.
Amino Acids. 2011 Aug 4. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21814788
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Microbial gene functions enriched in the Deepwater Horizon deep-sea oil plume.
Lu Z, Deng Y, Van Nostrand JD, He Z, Voordeckers J, Zhou A, Lee YJ, Mason OU, Dubinsky EA, Chavarria KL, Tom LM, Fortney JL, Lamendella R, Jansson JK, D'haeseleer P, Hazen TC, Zhou J.
ISME J. 2011 Aug 4. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2011.91. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21814288
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
1,1'-(3-Methyl-4-phenylthieno[2,3-b]thiophene-2,5-diyl)diethanone as a Building Block in Heterocyclic Synthesis. Novel Synthesis of Some Pyrazole and Pyrimidine Derivatives.
Mabkhot YN, Al-Majid AM, Barakat A, Alshahrani S, Siddiqui Y.
Molecules. 2011 Aug 3;16(8):6502-11.
PMID:
21814162
[PubMed - in process]
Towards the Growth of an Aligned Single-Layer MoS2 Film.
Kim D, Sun D, Lu W, Cheng Z, Zhu Y, Le D, Rahman TS, Bartels L.
Langmuir. 2011 Aug 3. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21812475
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher] |
