Tungsten is a chemical element that can be found naturally on the earth’s crust, and it forms compounds with other elements. Let us explore its chemical properties of it in brief.
Tungsten is a hard and brittle steel-grey metal. But pure monocrystalline tungsten becomes malleable enough and can be used easily. It has high tensile strength and the lowest coefficient of thermal expansion. It can form strong high metallic bonds due to having high melting and boiling point.
Let us focus on the position of tungsten in the periodic table, magnetism, melting, boiling point, isotopes, and many more relevant facts.
Tungsten Symbol
The chemical symbol is introduced in chemistry to write a chemical element concisely. Let us determine the symbol of tungsten.
The symbol of tungsten is W because another name of this chemical element is wolfram. The name “wolfram” comes from the name of its mineral, wolframite.
Tungsten Group in Periodic Table
The column in the periodic table in which a particular number of elements belong is known as a group. Let us predict the group of tungsten.
Tungsten belongs to group 6 after chromium (Cr) and molybdenum (Mo).
Tungsten Period in Periodic Table
A period is a row in which a particular number of chemical elements reside in the periodic table. Let us determine the period of tungsten.
Tungsten belongs to the 6th period of the periodic table between tantalum (Ta) and rhenium (Re).
Tungsten Block in Periodic Table
Block in the periodic table is the set of elements having similar chemical and physical properties. Let us talk about the block of tungsten.
Tungsten is a d-block element because it has a partially filled 5d orbital (5d4). It gets its position after Cr and Mo, which are also two d-block elements.
Tungsten Atomic Number
The atomic number indicates how many protons are present in the atomic nucleus. Let us calculate it.
The atomic number of tungsten is 74. It means that it has 74 protons in the nucleus and 74 electrons which are revolving around the nucleus to keep tungsten electrically neutral.
Tungsten Atomic Weight
Atomic weight determines the weight of an atom. Let us talk about the atomic weight of tungsten.
Tungsten has an atomic weight of 183.84 amu (atomic mass unit) which indicates tungsten is relatively a heavy metal.
Tungsten Electronegativity according to Pauling
Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to pull the bonding electron pairs towards itself from a comparatively less electronegative atom. Let us discuss it.
The electronegativity of tungsten is 2.36 according to the Pauling scale. This value differs when electronegativity is measured on a different scale. The electronegativity of tungsten in the Sanderson scale and Allred Rochow are 0.98 and 1.40 respectively.
Tungsten Atomic Density
Atomic density is the ratio of atomic mass and atomic volume. The unit of it is gm/cm3 (C.G.S) and kg/m3 (S.I). Let us comment on it.
Tungsten has an atomic density of 19.28 g/cm3. It is regarded as one of the heaviest metals on the periodic table.
Tungsten Melting Point
A melting point indicates the particular temperature at which the solid state is converted into the liquid state after applying heat. Let us find out this.
Tungsten has one of the highest melting points at 34220C. This high melting point occurs because W forms very strong metallic bonds.
Tungsten Boiling Point
The boiling point is the temperature at which the liquid state is converted into the gaseous state by applying heat energy. Let us predict this.
Tungsten also has a very high boiling point of 5,5550C like its melting point due to forming metallic bonds.
Tungsten Van der Waals Radius
Van der Waals radius is half of the distance between two atoms that are not attached through any bond. Let us discuss this in detail.
Tungsten has Van der Waals radius of 210 pm. But it has a much lesser atomic radius which is 141 pm.
Tungsten Ionic Radius
The distance from the nucleus of an ion to that place up to which the nucleus has its influence on the electron cloud is defined as the ionic radius. Let us explore this.
The ionic radius of tungsten (+6) is 64 nm. It is much lower than its Van der Waals radius and atomic radius.
Tungsten Isotopes
Isotopes are two or more than two atoms, having the same atomic number or same number of protons. Let us determine this.
| Isotopes | Abundance (in %) | Decay mode |
| 180W | 0.12 | α |
| 181W | Syn | ε |
| 182W | 26.50 | Stable |
| 183W | 14.31 | Stable |
| 184W | 30.64 | stable |
| 185W | Syn | β- |
| 186W | 28.43 | stable |
Tungsten Electronic Shell
The electronic shells are defined as the definite energy states in which the electrons are revolving around the nucleus. Let us discuss this in detail.
Tungsten has total 74 numbers of electrons in its different electronic shells which can be determined from the electronic configuration of W. The electrons are oriented in this manner- 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d4.
Therefore, it has 6 shells having 2, 8, 18, 32, 12, and 2 electrons in those shells and satisfies (2+8+18+ 32 +12 +2) = 74 number of electrons of tungsten.
Tungsten Energy of First Ionization
Ionization energy is the energy required to remove the loosely bound electrons from the valence shell of an atom in its gaseous state. Let us discuss it.
The first ionization energy of tungsten is 7.98 eV per atom or 758.77 KJ/mol.
Tungsten Oxidation States
The oxidation state is defined as the hypothetical charge carried by an atom considering all of its bonds as ionic. Let us talk about this.
Tungsten can be present in different oxidation states like +2, +3, +4, +5, and +6 depending upon the environment in the molecule.
Tungsten CAS Number
A CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) registry number is a unique numeric identification number divided by hyphens into three parts. Let us find out about it.
The CAS number of tungsten is 7440-33-7.
Tungsten ChemSpider ID
ChemSpider ID, owned by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), is a free database of chemicals. Let us find it for tungsten.
The ChemSpider ID of tungsten is 22403. This number helps to collect information about structure and properties of tungsten from hundreds of data sources.
Tungsten Allotropic Forms
Allotropy is defined as the characteristics of having two or more different forms of the same chemical element. Let us talk about it.
| Name of the allotropes | Edge length |
| α | 3.16 A0 |
| β | 5.04 A0 |
Tungsten Chemical Classification
The chemical classification system classifies chemical elements depending on their properties and function. Let us predict the chemical classification of tungsten.
Tungsten is classified as a transition metal like chromium and molybdenum because it contains a partially filled d orbital (5d4).
Tungsten State at Room Temperature
The state of any chemical element depends upon its nature which decides the melting and boiling point of that element. Let us discuss the state of tungsten.
Tungsten is a solid substance at room temperature because its melting and boiling point is very high with comparing to other compounds. The 5d electrons of W participate in strong metallic bonding. Thus, it is solid at ambient temperature.
Is tungsten paramagnetic?
The presence of one or more than one unpaired electrons make any atom paramagnetic. Let us discuss whether tungsten is paramagnetic or not.
Tungsten is a paramagnetic compound because it has four unpaired electrons in its 5d orbital. These unpaired electrons align in a particular way of an external magnetic field.
Conclusion
Tungsten is mainly used in alloys. Besides that, it is also used in incandescent light bulbs, X-ray tubes, welding, and radiation shielding. It is found in some selected species of bacteria and archaea.
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I am Aditi Ray, a chemistry SME on this platform. I have completed graduation in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta and post graduation from Techno India University with a specialization in Inorganic Chemistry. I am very happy to be a part of the Lambdageeks family and I would like to explain the subject in a simplistic way.
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