Thallium 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.
Thallium is primarily used for its electrical conductivity as thallium sulfide which changes with exposure to infrared light. This ability makes the compound useful in photocells. Thallium bromide-iodide crystals have been used as infrared optical materials. Thallium has been used, with sulfur or selenium and arsenic, to produce low melting glasses which becomes fluid between 125 and 150 C. These glasses have properties at room temperatures similar to ordinary glasses and are said to be durable and insoluble in water. Thallium oxide has been used to produce glasses with a high index of refraction, and is also used in the manufacture of photo cells. Thallium 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. Thallium 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. Thallium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries. Thallium is a Block P, Group 13, Period 6 element. The electronic configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p1. In its elemental form thallium's CAS number is 7440-28-0. The thallium atom has a radius of 170.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 196.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 Thallium 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. Thallium was first discovered by Sir William Crookes in 1861.
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of thallium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope. |
Thallium
Thallium
tallio
Tálio
talio
Thallium
Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
Tl-203 |
202.972329 |
29.524 |
Tl-205 |
204.974412 |
70.476 |
Safety Data. The safety data for thallium 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 thallium (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 |
589.36 kJ mol-1 |
2nd Ionization Energy |
1971.02 kJ mol-1 |
3rd Ionization Energy |
2878.18 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to thallium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 şC is 18 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.8. The thermal conductivity of thallium is 46.1 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for thallium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization. |
Heat of Fusion |
4.31 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Vaporization |
166.1 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Atomization |
182.845 kJ mol-1 |
| Formula | Atomic Number | Molecular Weight | Electronegativity (Pauling) | Density | Melting Point | Boiling Point |
Vanderwaals radius |
Ionic radius | Energy of first ionization |
| Tl | 81 | 204.383 g.mol -1 | 1.8 | 11.71 g.cm-3 at 20 °C | 1800 °C | 4200 °C | 196.pm | 0.099 nm (+3) | 589.36 kJ.mol-1 |
| PRODUCT CATALOG | U.S. Operations | Submicron & Nanopowder | Tolling | Ultra High Purity | Sputtering Target | Crystal Growth | Rod, Plate, Powder, etc. | Foil |
