Aluminium Chemical Properties (25 Facts You Should Know)

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Aluminium is a silver color chemical element. Let us see some facts about Aluminium.        

Aluminium is known for its lightweight. In pure form, it appears bluish-white. It is rare to find Aluminium in free form. It presents as Alumina after binding with oxygen. Bauxite and Cryolite are their two forms. 7% to 8% of the earth’s crust is Alumina.

Aluminium is manufactured from Bauxite by two steps. First one is Bayer Process followed by Hall-Heroult process. Let us discuss in this article chemical properties in detail like melting point, boiling point, electronegativity, ionization, and more such factors.

Aluminium symbol

According to the periodic table, the symbol of Aluminium is “Al”.

Aluminium group in periodic table

The periodic table shows 18 groups, of which Aluminium lies in group 13.

Aluminium period in periodic table

In the periodic table, 7 periods are present, out of which in the 3rd period, Aluminium is arranged.

Aluminium block in periodic table

Aluminiuim comes under the “p “block of the periodic table.

Aluminium atomic number

 Aluminium has the atomic number 13. This number reflects the presence of 13 protons in the nucleus of an atom.

Aluminium atomic Weight

The atomic weight of Aluminium is 26.982u. This show relative atomic mass.

image final
Symbolic representation of Aluminium

Aluminium Electronegativity according to Pauling

The electronegativity of Aluminium is 1.61, which is calculated on the Linus Pauling scale.

Aluminium atomic Density

The atomic density of Aluminium is found to be 2.7 g/cm3.

Aluminium melting point

Aluminium melt at a temperature of 6550 C (12150 F).

Aluminium boiling point

The boiling point of Aluminium is 24700 C.

Aluminium Vanderwaals radius 

Vander Waals radius of Aluminium is 184 pm.

Aluminium ionic/covalent radius

The Ionic aluminium radius is 54 pm, whereas the covalent radius is 121.4 pm.

Aluminium isotopes

Various forms of an atom containing the same proton number but differing neutron numbers are called isotopes. Let us identify different isotopes of Aluminium.

There are 22 different isotopes of Aluminium which are given below.

  • 22Al
  • 23Al
  • 24Al
  • 25Al
  • 26Al
  • 27Al
  • 28Al
  • 29Al
  • 30Al
  • 31Al
  • 32Al
  • 33Al
  • 34Al
  • 35Al
  • 36Al
  • 37Al
  • 38Al
  • 39Al
  • 40Al
  • 41Al
  • 42Al
  • 43Al

Two of these occur naturally which are listed below.

IsotopeAbundanceRadioactive half life
26 Altrace7.2*105 Y
27 Al99.9%Stable
Isotopes of Aluminium

Aluminium electronic shell  

In an atom, electrons move around the nucleus in an electronic shell orbit. Let us discuss electronic shells in terms of Aluminium.

The electronic shell structure of Aluminium is (2, 8, 3), which indicates the presence of 13 electrons. The shell close to the nucleus is called ‘K shell’, next to it is ‘L shell’, then ‘M shell’, and so on.

Aluminium energy of first ionisation

The first ionization energy in terms of Aluminium is calculated at 578 KJ mol-1.

Aluminium energy of second ionisation

The energy of second ionization for Aluminium is 1817 KJ mol-1.

Aluminium energy of third ionisation 

The third ionization energy of Aluminium is measured as 2745 KJ mol-1. The third ionization energy is more than first and second ionization energy.

Aluminium oxidation states

+1, +2, and +3 are three oxidation states of Aluminium. Mostly Aluminium shows a +3 oxidation state.

 Aluminium electron configurations

According to the Aufbau principle, the electronic configuration of Aluminium can be represented as 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1. It can also be written as [Ne] 3s2 3p1.

Aluminium CAS number

 The CAS number of Aluminium is identified as 7429-90-5.

Aluminium ChemSpider ID

ChemSpider ID for Aluminium is predicted as 94544.

Aluminium allotropic forms

Allotrope is two or more different structures of an element without changing its physical state. Let us see different allotropic forms of Aluminium.

Aluminium has no allotropic forms as it is a soft metal and not much strong.

Aluminium chemical classification

  • Aluminium is malleable, ductile metal.
  • Aluminium is classified under the ‘p’ block element.
  • Aluminium combines with other elements and forms an alloy.
  • In moist air, Aluminium reacts with oxygen and gives aluminium oxide.

Aluminium state at room temperature

At room temperature, Aluminium is solid.

Is Aluminium paramagnetic?

The presence of unpaired electrons shows the paramagnetic property of that element. Such elements show temporary magnetism. Let us see Aluminium is paramagnetic or not.

Aluminium show paramagnetic behavior. When the external magnetic field I applied, Aluminium got attracted. Electronic configuration of aluminium is [Ne] 3s2 3p1. It represents one unpaired electron in the P orbital. It shows Aluminium is paramagnetic.

Conclusion 

This article has predicted that Aluminium shows paramagnetic behavior. It can combine with other metals to give alloy. It is used in industry for making foil, wrapping materials etc.