Atomic number:24
Group numbers:6
Period:4
Electronic configuration:[Ar] 3d5 4s1
Formal oxidation number:+2 +3 +6
Electronegativities:1.66
Atomic radius / pm:124.9
Relative atomic mass:51.9961 ± 0.0006
Chromium was discovered by Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin (FR) in 1797. The origin of the name comes from the Greek word chroma meaning colour. It is a very hard, crystalline, steel-grey metal. The pure metal has a blue-white colour. It is hard, brittle and corrosion-resistant at normal temperatures. Hexavalent compounds are toxic by skin contact. The most important chromium mineral is chromite [Fe,Mg(CrO4)]. It is produced commercially by heating its ore in the presence of silicon or aluminium. Chromium is used to make stainless steel; it gives the colour to rubies and emeralds. Iron-nickel-chromium alloys in various percentages yield an incredible variety of the most important metals in modern technology.
Density / g dm-3:7190 (293 K)
6460 (m.p.)
Molar volume / cm3mol-1:7.23 (293 K)
8.05 (m.p.)
Electrical resistivity / μΩcm:12.9 (20 °C)
Thermal conductivity / W m-1K-1:93.7
Melting point / °C:1907
Boiling point / °C:2671
Heat of fusion / kJ mol-1:15.3
Heat of vaporization / kJ mol-1:341.8
Heat of atomization / kJ mol-1:394.51
First ionization energy / kJ mol-1:652.87
Second ionization energy / kJ mol-1:1590.64
Third ionization energy / kJ mol-1:2987.21
in the atmosphere / ppm:-
in the Earth's crust / ppm:185
in the oceans / ppm:0.00005
Crystal structure:
body-centered cubic
Unit-cell dimensions / pm:
a=288.46
Space group:
Im3m
| 23 Vanadium <= |
24 Chromium
|
=> 25 Manganese |