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

File:Xenon discharge tube.jpg A xenon-filled discharge tube glowing light blue
General properties
Pronunciation	/ˈzɛnɒn/ (ZEN-on) /ˈziːnɒn/ (ZEE-non)
Appearance	colorless gas, exhibiting a blue glow when placed in an electric field
Standard atomic weight (Ar, standard)	131.293(6)
Abundance
in the Earth's crust	2 × 10-9%
in the solar system	1.56 × 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 iodine ← xenon → caesium
Atomic number (Z)	54
Group	group n/a
Period	period 5
Block	[[{{{block}}}-block]]
Electron configuration	[Kr] 4d10 5s2 5p6
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 18, 8
Physical properties
Phase at STP	Xe: Gas
Melting point	161.40 K ​(−111.75 °C, ​−169.15 °F)
Boiling point	165.051 K ​(−108.099 °C, ​−162.578 °F)
Density (at STP)	5.894 g/L
when liquid (at b.p.)	2.942 g/cm3
Triple point	161.405 K, ​81.77 kPa
Critical point	289.733 K, 5.842 MPa
Heat of fusion	2.27 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	12.64 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	21.01 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 states	0, +1, +2, +4, +6, +8 (rarely more than 0; a weakly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 2.6
Ionization energies	1st: 1170.4 kJ/mol 2nd: 2046.4 kJ/mol 3rd: 3099.4 kJ/mol
Covalent radius	140±9 pm
Van der Waals radius	216 pm
File:Xenon spectrum visible.png Spectral lines of xenon
Other properties
Natural occurrence	Xe: Primordial
Crystal structure	​face-centered cubic (fcc)
Speed of sound	gas: 178 m·s−1 liquid: 1090 m/s
Thermal conductivity	5.65×10−3 W/(m·K)
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic
Magnetic susceptibility	−43.9×10−6 cm3/mol (298 K)
CAS Number	7440-63-3
History
Discovery and first isolation	William Ramsay and Morris Travers (1898)
Main isotopes of xenon
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct 125Xe syn 16.9 h ε 125I 126Xe 0.089% stable (no decay seen) β−β− 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) β−β− 135Xe syn 9.14 h β− 135Cs 136Xe 8.857% 2.165×1021 y β−β− 136Ba

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.

Error creating thumbnail:

Xenon in shaped Geissler tubes.

Xenon Media

• An acrylic cube specially prepared for element collectors containing an ampoule filled with liquefied xenon.JPG

  An acrylic cube specially prepared for element collectors containing a glass ampoule of liquefied xenon

• Solid and liquid xenon.jpg

  A layer of solid xenon floating on top of liquid xenon inside a high voltage apparatus (the solid is more dense than the liquid)

• 

  Liquid (featureless) and crystalline solid Xe nanoparticles produced by implanting Xe+ ions into aluminium at room temperature

• Xenon-flash.gif

  Xenon flashing inside a flashtube frame by frame

• Xenon-tetrafluoride-3D-vdW.png

  A model of planar chemical molecule with a blue center atom (Xe) symmetrically bonded to four peripheral atoms (fluorine).

• Xenon tetrafluoride.png

  On Oct. 2, 1962, Argonne announced the creation of xenon tetrafluoride, the first simple compound of xenon, a noble gas widely thought to be chemically inert. The creation opened a new era for the study of chemical bonds.

• Close-up of a 15KW Xenon short-arc lamp. See also end view.

• Space Shuttle Atlantis bathed in xenon lights

• Spectrum = gas discharge tube: the noble gas: xenon Xe. Used with 1,8kV, 18mA, 35kHz. ≈8" length.

• A metal cylinder with electrodes attached to its side. Blue diffuse light is coming out of the tube.

Related pages

• Periodic table
• List of common elements