General:

Name: Osmium Type: Transition Metal Density @ 293 K: 22.61 g/cm

3

Symbol: Os Atomic weight: 190.2 Atomic volume: 8.49 cm3/mol

Discovered: Osmium was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tennant in the residue left when crude platinum was
dissolved by aqua regia (a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid). Smithson Tennant also discovered iridium at the same time. Osmium's name comes from the Greek word 'osme' meaning a smell associated with toxic osmium tetroxide (OsO4), released by the powdered metal in air.

States
State (s, l, g): solid Melting point: 3303 K (3030 oC) Boiling point: 5285 K (5012 oC)

Energies
Specific heat capacity: 0.13 J g-1 K-1 Heat of atomization: 789 kJ mol-1 Heat of fusion: 31.80 kJ mol-1 1st ionization energy: 840 kJ mol-1 3rd ionization energy: kJ mol-1 Shells: 2,8,18,32,14,2 Minimum oxidation number: -2 Min. common oxidation no.: 0 Heat of vaporization : 627.6 kJ mol-1 2nd ionization energy: 1600 kJ mol-1 Electron affinity: 104 kJ mol-1 Electron configuration: [Xe] 4f14 5d6 6s2 Maximum oxidation number: 8 Max. common oxidation no.: 4

Oxidation & Electrons

Electronegativity (Pauling Scale): 2.2 Polarizability volume: 8.5 3

Appearance & Characteristics

Structure: hcp: hexagonal close pkd Hardness: 7.0 mohs Harmful effects:
Powdered osmium in air forms the pungent, highly toxic osmium tetroxide (OsO 4) which can cause lung, skin and eye damage.

Color: bluish-white

Characteristics:
Osmium is a rare, lustrous, very hard, brittle, bluish-white metal. It is the densest of all the elements. (Although osmium's density is very similar to iridiums, osmium's is slightly higher - both measured and calculated. Calculated: Osmium 22.587 0.009 g/cm & Iridium: 22.562 0.009 g/cm at 20 C. See data source.) Osmium has the highest melting point and the lowest vapor pressure of the platinum group (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, iridium, and platinum).
3 3 O

Uses:
Osmium is principally used alloyed with other metals in the platinum group to produce very hard alloys. An alloy of 90% platinum and 10% osmium is used in surgical implants such as pacemakers and replacement heart valves. Osmium tetroxide is used in microscopy as a stain for fatty tissue and in fingerprint detection.

Reactions
Reaction with air: mild, OsO4 Reaction with 6 M HCl: none

Reaction with 15 M HNO3: mild, OsO2 Reaction with 6 M NaOH: none

Compounds
Oxide(s): OsO2, OsO4 Hydride(s): none Chloride(s): OsCl3, OsCl4, OsCl5

Radius
Atomic radius: 135 pm Ionic radius (1+ ion): pm Ionic radius (2+ ion): pm Ionic radius (3+ ion): pm Ionic radius (2- ion): pm Ionic radius (1- ion): pm

Conductivity
Thermal conductivity: 87.6 W m-1 K-1 Electrical conductivity: 12.3 x 106 S m-1

Abundance & Isotopes

Abundance earth's crust: 1.5 parts per billion by weight, 0.2 parts per billion by moles Abundance solar system: 2 parts per billion by weight, 20 parts per trillion by moles Cost, pure: $7700 per 100g Cost, bulk: $ per 100g Source: Osmium is found in platinum ores and in the mineral osmiridium (an alloy of osmium and iridium).
Commercially, osmium is recovered as a by-product of nickel refining.

Isotopes: Osmium has 34 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers from 162 to 196. Of these,
five are stable: of 40.1%.
187

Os,

188

Os,

189

Os,

190

Os and

192

Os. Naturally the most common isotope is

192

Os, with an abundance