Atomic number:28

Group numbers:10

Period:4

Electronic configuration:[Ar] 3d⁸ 4s²

Formal oxidation number:+2 +3

Electronegativities:1.91

Atomic radius / pm:124.6

Relative atomic mass:58.6934 ± 0.0002

 

Nickel was discovered by Axel Fredrik Cronstedt (SE) in 1751. The origin of the name comes from the German word kupfernickel meaning Devil's copper or St Nicholas's (Old Nick's) copper. It is a hard, malleable, silvery-white metal. Nickel is soluble in acids, resist alkalis. It can be polished to a lustrous finish. It resists corrosion in air under normal conditions. Nickel is chiefly found in pentlandite [(Ni,Fe)9S8] ore. The metal is produced by heating the ore in a blast furnace which replaces the sulfur with oxygen. The oxides are then treated with an acid that reacts with the iron not the nickel. Nickel is used in electroplating and metal alloys because of its resistance to corrosion, in nickel-cadmium batteries, and as a catalyst and for coins.

Density / g dm^-3:8902 (298 K)

 7780 (m.p.)

Molar volume / cm³mol^-1:6.59 (298 K)

 7.54 (m.p.)

Electrical resistivity / μΩcm:6.84 (20 °C)

Thermal conductivity / W m^-1K^-1:90.7

Melting point / °C:1455

Boiling point / °C:2913

Heat of fusion / kJ mol^-1:17.6

Heat of vaporization / kJ mol^-1:374.8

Heat of atomization / kJ mol^-1:427.659

1st ionization energy / kJ mol^-1:737.13

2nd ionization energy / kJ mol^-1:1753.04

3rd ionization energy / kJ mol^-1:3395.34

in the atmosphere / ppm:-

in the Earth's crust / ppm:105

in the oceans / ppm:0.0005