WebElements Periodic Table » Polonium (original) (raw)
Polonium - 84Po: the essentials
Name: polonium
Symbol: Po
Atomic number: 84
Relative atomic mass (_A_r): [ 209 ] (longest lived isotope)
Standard state: solid at 298 K
Appearance: silvery
Classification: Metallic
Group name: Chalcogen
Shell structure: 2.8.18.32.18.6
CAS Registry: 7440-08-6
Polonium atoms have 84 electrons and the shell structure is 2.8.18.32.18.6. The ground state electronic configuration of neutral polonium is [Xe].4f14.5d10.6s2.6p4 and the term symbol of polonium is 3P2.
Polonium: description
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Polonium has more isotopes than any other element, all of which are radioactive. Polonium dissolves readily in dilute acids, but is only slightly soluble in alkalis.
Weight for weight it is about 2.5 x 1011 times as toxic as hydrocyanic acid (HCN). Polonium has been found in tobacco as a contaminant and in uranium ores.
Image adapted with permission from Prof James Marshall's (U. North Texas, USA) Walking Tour of the elements CD.
Polonium: binary compounds
Binary compounds with halogens (known as halides), oxygen (known as oxides), hydrogen (known as hydrides), and other compounds of polonium where known.
Polonium: compound properties
Bond strengths; lattice energies of polonium halides, hydrides, oxides (where known); and reduction potentials where known.
Polonium: isolation
Isolation: polonium is radioactive and excessivley rare in nature. It is made in very small qunatities through a nuclear reaction of bismuth. Neutron irradiation of 209bismuth (atomic number 83) gives 210polonium (atomic number 84).
209Bi + 1n → 210Po + e-
Metallic polonium can be fractionally distilled from the bismuth or electrodeposited onto a metal surface such as silver.