48Solid
Cd 112.411 Atomic mass · uTransition metals
Cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and like mercury it shows a low melting point compared to transition metals.
Discovery 1817 (Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann)
K2L8M18N18O2
Physical properties
Values for the element in its standard state.
- Density
- 8.65g/cm³
- Melting point
- 594K
- Boiling point
- 1,040K
- Atomic radius
- 148pm
- Bonding type
- Metallic
- Molar heat
- 26.02J/(mol·K)
Inside the atom
Electron arrangement and the energy behind its behavior.
Full electron configuration
1s, 2 electrons; 2s, 2 electrons; 2p, 6 electrons; 3s, 2 electrons; 3p, 6 electrons; 3d, 10 electrons; 4s, 2 electrons; 4p, 6 electrons; 4d, 10 electrons; 5s, 2 electrons;
[Kr] represents 36 core electrons. The full view shows them explicitly.
48 electrons Orbital order preserved from source
- Electronegativity
- 1.69Pauling scale
- First ionization energy
- 868kJ/mol
- Electron affinity
- 0kJ/mol
- Van der Waals radius
- 158pm
Cd CadmiumAtomic number 48
868kJ/mol
Atomic numberGaps indicate unavailable data
About cadmium
- Appearance
- Silvery bluish-gray metallic
- Discovery
- 1817 (Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann)
- Data source
- Read the reference
A missing value means it is unavailable in this reference dataset. Values can vary with measurement method and conditions.