Xenon

Xenon is a non-metal chemical element. It has the chemical symbol Xe and atomic number 54. It is one of the few elements that are a gas at the standard temperature and pressure.

Xenon,  54Xe
Template:Infobox element/symbol-to-top-image/alt
A xenon-filled discharge tube glowing light blue
General properties
Pronunciation
Appearancecolorless gas, exhibiting a blue glow when placed in an electric field
Standard atomic weight (Ar, standard)131.293(6)[3]
Abundance
in the Earth's crust2 × 10-9%
in the solar system1.56 × 10-8%
Xenon in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium
Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson
Kr

Xe

Rn
iodinexenoncaesium
Atomic number (Z)54
Groupgroup n/a
Periodperiod 5
Block[[{{{block}}}-block]]
Electron configuration[Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p6
Electrons per shell
2, 8, 18, 18, 8
Physical properties
Phase at STPXe: Gas
Melting point161.40 K ​(−111.75 °C, ​−169.15 °F)
Boiling point165.051 K ​(−108.099 °C, ​−162.578 °F)
Density (at STP)5.894 g/L
when liquid (at b.p.)2.942 g/cm3[4]
Triple point161.405 K, ​81.77 kPa[5]
Critical point289.733 K, 5.842 MPa[5]
Heat of fusion2.27 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization12.64 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity21.01[6] J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure
P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k
at T (K) 83 92 103 117 137 165
Atomic properties
Oxidation states0, +1, +2, +4, +6, +8 (rarely more than 0; a weakly acidic oxide)
ElectronegativityPauling scale: 2.6
Ionization energies
  • 1st: 1170.4 kJ/mol
  • 2nd: 2046.4 kJ/mol
  • 3rd: 3099.4 kJ/mol
Covalent radius140±9 pm
Van der Waals radius216 pm
Color lines in a spectral range
Spectral lines of xenon
Other properties
Natural occurrenceXe: Primordial
Crystal structureface-centered cubic (fcc)
Face-centered cubic crystal structure for xenon
Speed of soundgas: 178 m·s−1
liquid: 1090 m/s
Thermal conductivity5.65×10−3 W/(m·K)
Magnetic orderingdiamagnetic[7]
Magnetic susceptibility−43.9×10−6 cm3/mol (298 K)[8]
CAS Number7440-63-3
History
Discovery and first isolationWilliam Ramsay and Morris Travers (1898)
Main isotopes of xenon
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct

Template:Infobox element isotopes/isotopes decay

125Xe syn 16.9 h ε 125I
126Xe 0.089% stable (no decay seen) ββ
127Xe syn 36.345 d ε 127I
128Xe 1.910% stable
129Xe 26.401% stable
130Xe 4.071% stable
131Xe 21.232% stable
132Xe 26.909% stable
133Xe syn 5.247 d β 133Cs
134Xe 10.436% stable (no decay seen) ββ
135Xe syn 9.14 h β 135Cs
136Xe 8.857% 2.165×1021 y[9] ββ 136Ba
| references

History

Sir William Ramsay and M. W. Travers discovered this element in 1898. The element's name came from the Greek word xenos, which means 'stranger'.

Chemistry

Xenon belongs to the group of the noble gases. Noble gases are very unreactive. However, in 1962, chemists have found that xenon can react with fluorine under special conditions, such as high pressure and high temperature. It is not known why xenon behaves differently under these circumstances. There are also some compounds with oxygen. The gas is not very reactive, because if fulfills the octet rule. This means that a lot of energy is needed to remove an electron from xenon. This activation energy for xenon is 1172 kJ/mol. To remove a second electron from xenon, an energy of 2046.4 kJ/mol is needed.

Known oxidation states of xenon are 0, +1, +2, +4, +6 and +8. However, the most stable form is pure xenon, or the xenon's oxidation state of 0. Xenon has 8 stable isotopes and more than 30 unstable isotopes.

Uses

Xenon gas is used in electron tubes, bactericidal lamps, trobe lamps, and lamps used to excite ruby lasers. It has the atomic mass of 131.294 and is the 5th inert gas in the inner gas group.

Xenon is also a trace gas in the atmosphere, occurring at 87 ±1 nL/L (parts per billion) or approximately 1 in 11.5 million. It is also emitted from some mineral springs.

Xenon Media

Related pages


  1. "Xenon". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd) 20. (1989). Clarendon Press. 
  2. "Xenon". Dictionary.com Unabridged. 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  3. Meija, J.; Coplen, T. B.; Berglund, M.; Brand, W.A.; De Bièvre, P.; Gröning, M.; Holden, N.E.; Irrgeher, J.; Loss, R.D.; Walczyk, T.; Prohaska, T. (2016). "Atomic weights of the elements 2013 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. 88 (3): 265–91. doi:10.1515/pac-2015-0305. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |displayauthors= ignored (|display-authors= suggested) (help)
  4. "Xenon". Gas Encyclopedia. Air Liquide. 2009.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Haynes, William M., ed. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (92nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 4.123. ISBN 1439855110.
  6. Hwang, Shuen-Cheng; Weltmer, William R. (2000). "Helium Group Gases". Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Wiley. pp. 343–383. doi:10.1002/0471238961.0701190508230114.a01. ISBN 0-471-23896-1.
  7. Magnetic susceptibility of the elements and inorganic compounds, in Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0486-5.
  8. Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.
  9. Albert, J. B.; Auger, M.; Auty, D. J.; Barbeau, P. S.; Beauchamp, E.; Beck, D.; Belov, V.; Benitez-Medina, C.; Bonatt, J.; Breidenbach, M.; Brunner, T.; Burenkov, A.; Cao, G. F.; Chambers, C.; Chaves, J.; Cleveland, B.; Cook, S.; Craycraft, A.; Daniels, T.; Danilov, M.; Daugherty, S. J.; Davis, C. G.; Davis, J.; Devoe, R.; Delaquis, S.; Dobi, A.; Dolgolenko, A.; Dolinski, M. J.; Dunford, M.; et al. (2014). "Improved measurement of the 2νββ half-life of 136Xe with the EXO-200 detector". Physical Review C. 89. arXiv:1306.6106. Bibcode:2014PhRvC..89a5502A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.89.015502.