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Mercury Cadmium Comparison


Cadmium Mercury comparison


Periodic Table

Symbol
Hg   
Cd   

Group Number
12   
6
12   
6

Period Number
6   
5   

Block
d block   
d block   

Element Family
Transition Metal   
Transition Metal   

CAS Number
7439976   
99+
7440439   
99+

Space Group Name
R_ 3m   
P63/mmc   

Space Group Number
166.00   
6
194.00   
5

Facts

Interesting Facts
  • At room temperature mercury is found in a liquid state.
  • A coin of pound or rupees floats in mercury.
  • Because of its low melting point and boiling point it is used in thermometers.
  
  • Naturally occurring minor elements include Cadmium.
  • Cadmium is released into atmosphere to control volcanic eruption and forest fires.
  • It is used for electroplating of Steel for corrosion resistance.
  • It can absorb neutrons and used in nuclear reactor to control atomic fission.
  

Sources
Mining, Ores of Minerals   
Found As a By-product, Found in Minerals, Mining   

History
  
  

Who Discovered
Ancient Chinese and Indians   
Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann and Friedrich Stromeyer   

Discovery
Before 2000 BCE   
In 1817   

Abundance
  
  

Abundance In Universe
Not Available   
2 * 10-7 %   
22

Abundance In Sun
~-9999 %   
~0.0000006 %   
21

Abundance In Meteorites
Not Available   
0.00 %   
31

Abundance In Earth's Crust
0.05 %   
9
0.00 %   
99+

Abundance In Oceans
Not Available   
0.00 %   
28

Abundance In Humans
Not Available   
0.00 %   
11

Uses

Uses & Benefits
  • It is a liquid metal at room temperature, but it is a toxic heavy metal and hence many uses of mercury are under review or phased out.
  • It is manly used as a catalysts in chemical industry.
  
  • It has very limited uses as it is a toxic metal and it can cause birth defects, cancer, etc.
  • Almost 80% of Cadmium metal is used in Nickel cadmium Batteries and now it is getting replaced with nickel hydride.
  

Industrial Uses
Electrical Industry, Electronic Industry   
Aerospace Industry, Ammunition Industry, Chemical Industry, Electrical Industry, Electronic Industry   

Medical Uses
Dentistry   
NA   

Other Uses
Alloys, Mirror Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical Industry   
Alloys   

Biological Properties
  
  

Toxicity
Highly Toxic   
Toxic   

Present in Human Body
Yes   
Yes   

In Blood
0.01 Blood/mg dm-3   
23
0.01 Blood/mg dm-3   
24

In Bone
0.45 p.p.m.   
19
1.80 p.p.m.   
15

Physical Properties

Melting Point
Not Available   
320.90 °C   
99+

Boiling Point
356.58 °C   
99+
765.00 °C   
99+

Appearance
  
  

Physical State
Liquid   
Solid   

Color
Silver   
Silvery Bluish-Gray   

Luster
NA   
Metallic   

Hardness
  
  

Mohs Hardness
Not Available   
2.00   
16

Brinell Hardness
Not Available   
203.00 MPa   
39

Speed of Sound
1,451.40 m/s   
99+
2,310.00 m/s   
39

Optical Properties
  
  

Refractive Index
1.00   
3
Not Available   

Reflectivity
73.00 %   
8
67.00 %   
11

Allotropes
No   
No   

α Allotropes
Not Available   
Not Available   

β Allotropes
Not Available   
Not Available   

γ Allotropes
Not Available   
Not Available   

Chemical Properties

Chemical Formula
Hg   
Cd   

Isotopes
  
  

Known Isotopes
34   
5
34   
5

Electronegativity
  
  

Pauling Electronegativity
2.00   
7
1.69   
17

Sanderson Electronegativity
2.20   
7
1.98   
9

Allred Rochow Electronegativity
1.44   
17
1.46   
15

Mulliken-Jaffe Electronegativity
1.81   
9
1.53   
13

Allen Electronegativity
1.44   
30
1.52   
27

Electropositivity
  
  

Pauling Electropositivity
2.00   
99+
2.31   
37

Ionization Energies
  
  

1st Energy Level
1,007.10 kJ/mol   
4
867.80 kJ/mol   
11

2nd Energy Level
1,810.00 kJ/mol   
20
1,631.40 kJ/mol   
32

3rd Energy Level
3,300.00 kJ/mol   
20
3,616.00 kJ/mol   
13

Electrochemical Equivalent
3.74 g/amp-hr   
10
2.10 g/amp-hr   
27

Electron Work Function
4.49 eV   
15
4.22 eV   
22

Other Chemical Properties
Flammability, Ionization, Solubility   
Chemical Stability, Anti Corrosion, Ionization, Radioactive Isotopes, Solubility   

Atomic Properties

Atomic Number
80   
36
48   
99+

Electron Configuration
[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2   
[Kr] 4d10 5s2   

Crystal Structure
Rhombohedral (RHO)   
Hexagonal Close Packed (HCP)   

Crystal Lattice
RHO-Crystal-Structure-of-Mercury.jpg#100   
HCP-Crystal-Structure-of-Cadmium.jpg#100   

Atom
  
  

Number of Protons
80   
36
48   
99+

Number of Neutrons
121   
22
64   
99+

Number of Electrons
80   
36
48   
99+

Radius of an Atom
  
  

Atomic Radius
151.00 pm   
32
151.00 pm   
32

Covalent Radius
132.00 pm   
99+
144.00 pm   
40

Van der Waals Radius
155.00 pm   
99+
158.00 pm   
99+

Atomic Weight
200.59 amu   
32
112.41 amu   
99+

Atomic Volume
14.82 cm3/mol   
35
13.10 cm3/mol   
39

Adjacent Atomic Numbers
  
  

Previous Element
Gold
  
Silver
  

Next Element
Thallium
  
Indium
  

Valence Electron Potential
28.20 (-eV)   
99+
30.00 (-eV)   
99+

Lattice Constant
300.50 pm   
99+
297.94 pm   
99+

Lattice Angles
NA   
π/2, π/2, 2 π/3   

Lattice C/A Ratio
Not Available   
1.89   
1

Mechanical Properties

Density
  
  

Density At Room Temperature
13.53 g/cm3   
24
8.65 g/cm3   
99+

Density When Liquid (at m.p.)
Not Available   
8.00 g/cm3   
28

Tensile Strength
Not Available   
62.00 MPa   
16

Viscosity
0.00   
1
Not Available   

Vapor Pressure
  
  

Elasticity properties
  
  

Shear Modulus
Not Available   
19.00 GPa   
35

Bulk Modulus
Not Available   
42.00 GPa   
29

Young's Modulus
Not Available   
50.00 GPa   
36

Poisson Ratio
Not Available   
0.30   
14

Other Mechanical Properties
NA   
Ductile, Malleable   

Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Characteristics
  
  

Specific Gravity
13.53   
16
8.65   
36

Magnetic Ordering
Diamagnetic   
Diamagnetic   

Electrical Properties
  
  

Electrical Property
Conductor   
Semiconductor   

Resistivity
961.00 nΩ·m   
1
72.70 nΩ·m   
36

Electrical Conductivity
0.01 106/cm Ω   
99+
0.14 106/cm Ω   
15

Electron Affinity
0.00 kJ/mol   
40
0.00 kJ/mol   
40

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat
0.14 J/(kg K)   
38
0.23 J/(kg K)   
26

Molar Heat Capacity
27.98 J/mol·K   
13
26.02 J/mol·K   
32

Thermal Conductivity
8.30 W/m·K   
99+
96.60 W/m·K   
16

Critical Temperature
1,750.00 K   
6
Not Available   

Thermal Expansion
60.40 µm/(m·K)   
5
30.80 µm/(m·K)   
10

Enthalpy
  
  

Enthalpy of Vaporization
56.90 kJ/mol   
99+
100.00 kJ/mol   
99+

Enthalpy of Fusion
2.29 kJ/mol   
99+
6.19 kJ/mol   
99+

Enthalpy of Atomization
61.50 kJ/mol   
99+
113.00 kJ/mol   
99+

Standard Molar Entropy
75.80 J/mol.K   
6
51.80 J/mol.K   
27

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