Tungsten

This article is about the chemical element. For other uses, see Tungsten (disambiguation).
Tungsten, 74W
Tungsten
Pronunciation/ˈtʌŋstən/ ​(TUNG-stən)
Alternative nameWolfram, pronounced: /ˈwʊlfrəm/ (WUUL-frəm)
Allotropesα-tungsten (common), β-tungsten
AppearanceGrayish white, lustrous
Standard atomic weight Ar°(W)
Tungsten 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
Mo
↑
W
↓
Sg
tantalum ← tungsten → rhenium
Atomic number (Z)74
Groupgroup 6
Periodperiod 6
Block  d-block
Electron configuration[Xe] 4f14 5d4 6s2[3]
Electrons per shell2, 8, 18, 32, 12, 2
Physical properties
Phase at STPsolid
Melting point3695 K ​(3422 °C, ​6192 °F)
Boiling point6203 K ​(5930 °C, ​10706 °F)
Density (at 20° C)19.254 g/cm3 [4]
when liquid (at m.p.)17.6 g/cm3
Heat of fusion52.31 kJ/mol[5][6]
Heat of vaporization774 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity24.27 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure
P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k
at T (K) 3477 3773 4137 4579 5127 5823
Atomic properties
Oxidation statescommon: +4, +6
−4,? −2,[7] −1,[7] 0,? +1,[7] +2,[7] +3,[7] +5[7]
ElectronegativityPauling scale: 2.36
Ionization energies
  • 1st: 770 kJ/mol
  • 2nd: 1700 kJ/mol
Atomic radiusempirical: 139 pm
Covalent radius162±7 pm
Color lines in a spectral range
Spectral lines of tungsten
Other properties
Natural occurrenceprimordial
Crystal structure ​body-centered cubic (bcc) (cI2)
Lattice constant
Body-centered cubic crystal structure for tungsten
a = 316.52 pm (at 20 °C)[4]
Thermal expansion4.42×10−6/K (at 20 °C)[4]
Thermal conductivity173 W/(m⋅K)
Electrical resistivity52.8 nΩ⋅m (at 20 °C)
Magnetic orderingparamagnetic[8]
Molar magnetic susceptibility+59.0×10−6 cm3/mol (298 K)[9]
Young's modulus411 GPa
Shear modulus161 GPa
Bulk modulus310 GPa
Speed of sound thin rod4620 m/s (at r.t.) (annealed)
Poisson ratio0.28
Mohs hardness7.5
Vickers hardness3430–4600 MPa
Brinell hardness2000–4000 MPa
CAS Number7440-33-7
History
Discovery and first isolationJuan José Elhuyar and Fausto Elhuyar[10] (1783)
Named byTorbern Bergman (1781)
Symbol"W": from Wolfram, originally from Middle High German wolf-rahm 'wolf's foam' describing the mineral wolframite[11]
Isotopes of tungsten
Main isotopes Decay
abun­dance half-life (t1/2) mode pro­duct
180W 0.120% 1.8×1018 y α 176Hf
181W synth 121.2 d ε 181Ta
182W 26.5% stable
183W 14.3% stable
184W 30.6% stable
185W synth 75.1 d β− 185Re
186W 28.4% stable
188W synth 69.78 d β− 188Re
 Category: Tungsten
| references

Tungsten (also called wolfram)[12][13] is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include scheelite and wolframite, the latter lending the element its alternative name.

The free element is remarkable for its robustness, especially the fact that it has the highest melting point of all known elements, melting at 3,422 °C (6,192 °F; 3,695 K). It also has the highest boiling point, at 5,930 °C (10,706 °F; 6,203 K).[14] Its density is 19.254 g/cm3,[4] comparable with that of uranium and gold, and much higher (about 1.7 times) than that of lead.[15] Polycrystalline tungsten is an intrinsically brittle[16][17][18] and hard material (under standard conditions, when uncombined), making it difficult to work into metal. However, pure single-crystalline tungsten is more ductile and can be cut with a hard-steel hacksaw.[19]

Tungsten occurs in many alloys, which have numerous applications, including incandescent light bulb filaments, X-ray tubes, electrodes in gas tungsten arc welding, superalloys, and radiation shielding. Tungsten's hardness and high density make it suitable for military applications in penetrating projectiles. Tungsten compounds are often used as industrial catalysts. Its largest use is in tungsten carbide, a wear-resistant metal used in metalworking, mining, and construction.[20] About 50% of tungsten is used in tungsten carbide, with the remaining major use being alloys and steels: less than 10% is used other compounds.[21]

Tungsten is the only metal in the third transition series that is known to occur in biomolecules, being found in a few species of bacteria and archaea. However, tungsten interferes with molybdenum and copper metabolism and is somewhat toxic to most forms of animal life.[22][23]

  1. ^ "Standard Atomic Weights: Tungsten". CIAAW. 1991.
  2. ^ Prohaska, Thomas; Irrgeher, Johanna; Benefield, Jacqueline; Böhlke, John K.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Ding, Tiping; Dunn, Philip J. H.; Gröning, Manfred; Holden, Norman E.; Meijer, Harro A. J. (2022-05-04). "Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure and Applied Chemistry. doi:10.1515/pac-2019-0603. ISSN 1365-3075.
  3. ^ Berger, Dan. "Why does Tungsten not 'Kick' up an electron from the s sublevel ?". Bluffton College, USA.
  4. ^ a b c d Arblaster, John W. (2018). Selected Values of the Crystallographic Properties of Elements. Materials Park, Ohio: ASM International. ISBN 978-1-62708-155-9.
  5. ^ Lide, David R., ed. (2009). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (90th ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 6-134. ISBN 978-1-4200-9084-0.
  6. ^ Tolias P. (2017). "Analytical expressions for thermophysical properties of solid and liquid tungsten relevant for fusion applications". Nuclear Materials and Energy. 13: 42–57. arXiv:1703.06302. Bibcode:2017arXiv170306302T. doi:10.1016/j.nme.2017.08.002. S2CID 99610871.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.
  8. ^ Lide, D. R., ed. (2005). "Magnetic susceptibility of the elements and inorganic compounds" (PDF). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (86th ed.). Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-0486-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-03.
  9. ^ Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. p. E110. ISBN 978-0-8493-0464-4.
  10. ^ "Tungsten". Royal Society of Chemistry. Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  11. ^ van der Krogt, Peter. "Wolframium Wolfram Tungsten". Elementymology& Elements Multidict. Archived from the original on 2010-01-23. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  12. ^ "wolfram" on Merriam-Webster.
  13. ^ "wolfram" on Oxford Dictionaries.
  14. ^ Zhang Y; Evans JRG and Zhang S (January 2011). "Corrected Values for Boiling Points and Enthalpies of Vaporization of Elements in Handbooks". J. Chem. Eng. Data. 56 (2): 328–337. doi:10.1021/je1011086.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Daintith, John (2005). Facts on File Dictionary of Chemistry (4th ed.). New York: Checkmark Books. ISBN 978-0-8160-5649-1.
  16. ^ Lassner, Erik; Schubert, Wolf-Dieter (1999). "low temperature brittleness". Tungsten: properties, chemistry, technology of the element, alloys, and chemical compounds. Springer. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-306-45053-2.
  17. ^ Prakash, C.; Lee, H.; Alucozai, M.; Tomar, V. (2016). "An analysis of the influence of grain boundary strength on microstructure dependent fracture in polycrystalline tungsten". International Journal of Fracture. 199: 1–20. doi:10.1007/s10704-016-0083-0. S2CID 137928096.
  18. ^ Gludovatz, B.; Wurster, S.; Weingärtner, T.; Hoffmann, A.; Pippan, R. (2011). "Influence of impurities on the fracture behavior of tungsten". Philosophical Magazine (Submitted manuscript). 91 (22): 3006–3020. Bibcode:2011PMag...91.3006G. doi:10.1080/14786435.2011.558861. S2CID 137145004.
  19. ^ Stwertka, Albert (2002). A Guide to the elements (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515026-1.
  20. ^ "Tungsten Statistics and Information". National Minerals Information Center. U.S. Geological Survey. 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ McMaster, J. & Enemark, John H. (1998). "The active sites of molybdenum- and tungsten-containing enzymes". Current Opinion in Chemical Biology. 2 (2): 201–207. doi:10.1016/S1367-5931(98)80061-6. PMID 9667924.
  23. ^ Hille, Russ (2002). "Molybdenum and tungsten in biology". Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 27 (7): 360–367. doi:10.1016/S0968-0004(02)02107-2. PMID 12114025.