Cadmium information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
Cadmium is a component of some of the lowest melting alloys; it is used in bearing alloys with low coefficients of friction and great resistance to fatigue. Cadmium is used extensively in electroplating, which accounts for about 60% of its use. It is also used in many types of solder, for standard E.M.F. cells, for nickel-cadmium batteries, and as a barrier to control nuclear fission. Cadmium compounds are used in black and white television phosphors and in blue and green phosphors for color television tubes and CRT monitors. Cadmium in glass and ceramic glazes creates a distinctive cadmium yellow. It forms a number of compounds, of which the sulfate is most common; the sulfide is used as a yellow pigment. Cadmium is similar to carbon in that it has a capacity to form stable covalently bonded molecular networks. Cadmium is available as compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity). Cadmium is also used in various metal alloys (See AE Alloys). Cadmium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are
Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Cadmium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries. Cadmium is a Block D, Group 12, Period 5 element. The electronic configuration is [Kr] 4d10 5s2. In its elemental form cadmium's CAS number is 7440-43-9. The cadmium atom has a radius of 148.9.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 158.pm.All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology advantages. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Cadmium compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis. Cadmium was first discovered by Fredrich Stromeyer in 1817.
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of cadmium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope. |
Cadmium 
Cadmium 
Cadmio 
Cádmio 
Cadmio
Kadmium
<Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
Cd-106 |
105.906458 |
1.25 |
Cd-108 |
107.904183 |
0.89 |
Cd-110 |
109.903006 |
12.49 |
Cd-111 |
110.904182 |
12.80 |
Cd-112 |
111.902757 |
24.13 |
Cd-113 |
112.904401 |
12.22 |
Cd-114 |
113.903358 |
28.73 |
Cd-116 |
115.904755 |
7.49 |
Safety Data. The safety data for cadmium metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for cadmium (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table: |
1st Ionization Energy |
867.78 kJ mol-1 |
2nd Ionization Energy |
1631.42 kJ mol-1 |
3rd Ionization Energy |
3616.30 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to cadmium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 6.83 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.69. The thermal conductivity of cadmium is 96.8 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for cadmium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization. |
Heat of Fusion |
6.11 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Vaporization |
100 kJ mol-1 |
Heat of Atomization |
112.05 kJ mol-1 |
| Formula | Atomic Number | Molecular Weight | Electronegativity (Pauling) | Density | Melting Point | Boiling Point |
Vanderwaals radius |
Ionic radius | Energy of first ionization |
| Cd | 48 | 112.4 g.mol -1 | 1.7 | 8.7 g.cm-3 at 20 °C | 321 °C | 767 °C | 158.pm | 0.097 nm (+2) | 867.78 kJ.mol-1 |
| PRODUCT CATALOG | UK Operations | Submicron & Nanopowder | Tolling | Ultra High Purity | Sputtering Target | Crystal Growth | Rod, Plate, Powder, etc. | Foil |
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