Cadmium
Transition Metal
Cadmium (Cd) is a chemical element with atomic number 48, classified as a transition metal. At room temperature it is a solid. It was discovered in 1817 by Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann, Friedrich Stromeyer.
Properties
- Atomic number
- 48
- Atomic mass
- 112.41 u
- Category
- Transition Metal
- Group
- 12
- Period
- 5
- Block
- d-block
- Electron configuration
- [Kr] 4d¹⁰ 5s²
- Phase at STP
- Solid
- Density
- 8.69 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 594.22 K (321.1 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1040 K (766.9 °C)
- Electronegativity
- 1.69
- Atomic radius
- 161 pm
- Ionization energy
- 8.994 eV
- Discovery
- 1817 · Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann, Friedrich Stromeyer
Common uses
Batteries, pigments, coatings, nuclear reactors
Did you know?
Highly toxic but essential for some rechargeable batteries.
Experiment with the elements
Cadmium doesn't form any compounds in our lab yet, but the periodic table sandbox lets you combine dozens of other real elements into real compounds — water, table salt, ammonia and many more — with their true chemical formulas.