Bismuth Chemical Properties (25 Facts You Should Know)

Bi or Bismuth is a post-transition metal element, brittle in nature, and is found in the Earth’s crust as sulfide and oxide ore. Let us explain Bismuth in detail.

Bi is present in the same group of Nitrogen and it is similar to lighter congeners As and Sb in terms of properties. It is weakly radioactive in nature. Bi is a very stable element but at high temperatures, it can react with water to form the corresponding oxide.

Bismuth appears silvery white when it is freshly extracted from its ore. After that it turns dark and silver-pink in color. Let us discuss some of the chemical properties of Bismuth like melting point, boiling point, atomic number, etc. in this article.

1. Bismuth symbol

Symbols are used to express the element by using one or two letters of the English or Latin alphabet of the chemical name. Let us predict the atomic symbol of Bismuth.

The atomic symbol of Bismuth is “Bi” as the name start with the English alphabet B. But B represents the Boron element present in group 13, so we use the first two letters of the English alphabet for the abbreviation of Bismuth to distinguish it from other elements.

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Bismuth Atomic Symbol

2. Bismuth group in the periodic table

Vertical lines or columns of the periodic table are referred to as the respective group of the periodic table. Let us predict the group of Bismuth in the periodic table.

The group of Bismuth in the periodic table is 15. Because it is a pnictogen metal. So, it is placed in the 15th group as an elementIn the Mendeleev periodic table, it is group 15 but in the modern table, it is placed as the VA group as per the precipitation table.

3. Bismuth period in the periodic table

A horizontal line or row of the periodic table where every element is placed by its last principle quantum number is called a period. Let us predict the period of Bismuth.

Bismuth belongs to period 6 in the periodic table because it has more than 54 electrons in the valence shell. Up to period 5, there will be 54 elements that are well placed, so the remaining 29 electrons for the Bi get 6th period and 15th group after the lanthanide series along with the post-transition element.

4. Bismuth block in the periodic table

The orbital where the valence electrons of the element are present is called the block of the periodic table. Let us predict the block of Bismuth.

Bismuth is a p-block element because the valence electrons are present in the p orbital. Bi also has s, d, and f orbitals but the outermost electrons are present in the 6p orbital according to the Aufbau principle.

5. Bismuth atomic number

The value of Z, known as the atomic number, is the total number of electrons. Let us find the atomic number of Bismuth.

The atomic number of Bismuth is 83, which means it has 83 protons because the number of protons is always equal to the number of electrons. For this reason, they become neutral due to the neutralization of equal and opposite charges.

6. Bismuth atomic Weight

The mass of the element is called weight which is measured concerning some standard value. Let us calculate the atomic weight of Bismuth.

The atomic weight of Bismuth on the 12C scale is 209 which means the weight of Bismuth is the 209/12th part of the weight of the carbon element. The original atomic weight of Bismuth is 208.98. It is because the atomic weight is the average weight of all the isotopes of the element.

7. Bismuth Electronegativity according to Pauling

Pauling electronegativity is the power to attract any other element for that particular atom. Let us predict the electronegativity of Bismuth.

The electronegativity of Bismuth according to the Pauling scale is 2.02, which means it has electronegative nature and can attract electrons toward itself. The most electronegative atom as per the Pauling scale in the periodic table is fluorine having 4.0 electronegativity.

8. Bismuth atomic Density

The number of atoms present per unit volume of any atom is called the atomic density of that respective element. Let us calculate the atomic density of Bismuth.

The atomic density of Bismuth is 9.8 g/cm3 which can be calculated by diving the mass of Bismuth with its volume. Atomic density means the number of atoms present per unit volume but atomic number is the number of electrons present in the valence and inner orbital.

  • Density is calculated by the formula, atomic density = atomic mass / atomic volume.
  • The atomic mass or weight of Bismuth is 208.98 g
  • The volume of the Bismuth molecule is 22.4 liter at STP as per Avogardo’s calculation
  • So, the atomic density of Bismuth is, 209/ (22.4) = 9.33 g/cm3

9. Bismuth melting point

Changing to a liquid state from its solid state at a particular temperature is called the melting point of that particular element. Let us find the melting point of Bismuth.

The melting point of Bismuth is 271.40 C or 544.4 K temperature because at room temperature Bismuth exists as a solid where it adopts rhombohedral structure. It needs less energy to melt the crystal into a liquid. By increasing the temperature, the elements can be placed in good arrangement.

10. Bismuth boiling point

The boiling point is the point when the vapor pressure of an element becomes equal to its atmospheric pressure. Let us find the boiling point of Bismuth.

The boiling point of Bismuth is 1564C or 1837K because it exists in solid form at room temperature and also it is a post-transition metal element.

The Van der Waal’s force of attraction is low. Hence, high energy of heat is required to boil Bismuth. The solid form of Bismuth exists at room temperature or a higher temperature than its melting point.

11. Bismuth Van der Waals radius

Van der Waal’s radius is the imaginary measurement between two atoms where they are not bound ionically or covalently. Let us find Van der Waal’s radius of Bismuth.

The Van der Waal’s radius of the Bismuth molecule is 230 pm because Bi has 6s and a filled 4d, 4f orbital so it has a very poor screening effect. For this reason, the nucleus attraction force for the outermost orbital increases, and it decreases the radius.

  • Van der Waal’s radius is calculated by the mathematical formula considering the distance between two atoms, where atoms are spherical in shape.
  • Van der Waal’s radius is, Rv = dA-A / 2
  • Where Rstands for Van Waal’s radius of the molecule of spherical shape
  • dA-A is the distance between two adjacent spheres of the atomic molecule or the summation of a radius of two atoms.

12. Bismuth ionic radius

The summation of cation and anion is called the ionic radius of the element. Let us find the ionic radius of Bismuth.

The ionic radius of Bismuth is 230 pm which is the same as the covalent radius because for Bismuth the cation and anion are the same and it is not an ionic molecule. Rather, it forms by the covalent interaction between two Bismuth atoms.

13. Bismuth isotopes

Elements having the same number of electrons but different mass numbers are called isotopes of the original element. Let us discuss the isotopes of Bismuth.

Bismuth has 89 isotopes based on their neutron number which are listed below:

  • 184Bi
  • 184mBi
  • 185Bi
  • 18mBi
  • 186Bi
  • 186mBi
  • 187Bi
  • 187m1Bi
  • 187m2Bi
  • 188Bi
  • 188mBi
  • 189Bi
  • 189m1Bi
  • 189m2Bi
  • 190Bi
  • 190m1Bi
  • 190m2Bi
  • 191Bi
  • 191mBi
  • 192Bi
  • 192mBi
  • 193Bi
  • 193mBi
  • 194Bi
  • 194m1Bi
  • 194m2Bi
  • 195Bi
  • 195m1Bi
  • 195m2Bi
  • 196Bi
  • 196m1Bi
  • 196m2Bi
  • 197Bi
  • 197m1Bi
  • 197m2Bi
  • 197m3Bi
  • 197m4Bi
  • 197m5Bi
  • 198Bi
  • 198m1Bi
  • 198m2Bi
  • 199Bi
  • 199m1Bi
  • 199m2Bi
  • 199m3Bi
  • 200Bi
  • 200m1Bi
  • 200m2Bi
  • 201Bi
  • 201m1Bi
  • 201m2Bi
  • 201m3Bi
  • 201m4Bi
  • 202Bi
  • 202m1Bi
  • 202m2Bi
  • 203Bi
  • 203m1Bi
  • 203m2Bi
  • 204Bi
  • 204m1Bi
  • 204m2Bi
  • 205Bi
  • 206Bi
  • 206m1Bi
  • 206m2Bi
  • 207Bi
  • 207mBi
  • 208Bi
  • 208mBi
  • 209Bi
  • 210Bi
  • 210mBi
  • 211Bi
  • 211mBi
  • 212Bi
  • 212m1Bi
  • 212m2Bi
  • 213Bi
  • 214Bi
  • 215Bi
  • 215mBi
  • 216Bi
  • 216mBi
  • 217Bi
  • 217mBi
  • 218Bi
  • 219Bi
  • 220Bi

Stable isotopes are discussed in the below section among 39 isotopes of Bismuth:

IsotopeNatural
Abundance
Half-lifeEmitting
particles
No. of
Neutron
207BiSynthetic31.55 yβ124
208BiSynthetic3.68 *105 yβ125
209Bi100%2.01 * 1019 yα126
210Bitrace5.012 dβ, α127
210mZnSynthetic3.04 * 106 yβ, IT127
Isotopes of Bismuth

Only 209Bi is a naturally occurring isotope of Bi and the rest of all are synthetically prepared all the isotopes are radioactive and can emit radioactive particles.

14. Bismuth electronic shell

The shell surrounding the nucleus as per principal quantum number and holding the electrons is called an electronic shell. Let us discuss the electronic shell of Bismuth.

The electronic shell distribution of Bismuth is 2 8 18 32 18 5 because it has s, p, d, and f orbitals around the nucleus. Since it has more than 54 electrons and to arrange 83 electrons, it needs 1s,2s,2p,3s,3p,3d,4s,4p,4d,4f,5s,5p,5d,6s, and 6p and orbitals.

15. Bismuth electron configurations

The electronic configuration is an arrangement of the electrons in available orbital by considering Hund’s rule. Let us discuss the electronic configuration of the Bismuth.

The electronic configuration of Bismuth is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6  3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 6s2 6p3 because it has 30 electrons and those electrons should be placed to the nearest orbital of the nucleus s, p, d, and f orbitals and for the 1st,2nd, 3rd, 4th,5th, and 6th orbitals.

  • Due to exchange energy electrons enter first in 4s orbital then 3d.
  • Where the first number stands for the principal quantum number
  • The letter is for orbital and the suffix number is the number of electrons.
  • But many elements have more principal quantum numbers depending on the number of electrons.
  • Xe has 54 electrons, so the remaining electrons are present after the noble gas configuration.
  • So, it is denoted as [Xe]4f145d106s26p3.

16. Bismuth energy of first ionization

First I.E. is the energy required for the removal of an electron from the valence orbital of its zero oxidation state. Let us predict the first ionization of Bismuth.

The first ionization value for Bi is 703 KJ/mol because the electron was removed from the half-filled 6p orbital. Due to the relativistic effect of 6s orbital, it requires more energy to remove the electron, and also electron removal from 6p is the unfavorable process as the half-filled stabilization is lost.

17. Bismuth energy of second ionization

The second I.E. is the energy required for the removal of one electron from the available orbital from the +1 oxidation state. Let us see the second ionization energy of Bismuth.

The 2nd ionization energy of Bismuth is 1610 KJ/mol because in the 2nd ionization, electrons are removed from the 6p orbital. When an electron is removed from a half-filled orbital, it needs more energy, and also +1 is the stable state for Bi. Therefore, the 2nd ionization energy is very high than 1st.

18. Bismuth energy of third ionization

Removal of the third electron from the outermost or pre-ultimate orbital of an element having a +2 oxidation state is the third I.E. Let us predict the third I.E. of Bismuth.

The third ionization energy for Bi is 2466 KJ/mol because the third ionization occurs from 6p orbital and gets stabilization but the value is higher than expected because:

  • Bi has a 6s orbital which is subject to relativistic contraction and for this, the nucleus attraction for the outer electrons will increase.
  • Bi has also 4f and 4d orbital which is subject to poor shielding effect and for this reason, the nucleus attraction force on the outer electrons will be increased and the removal of the electron require a larger amount of energy.

19. Bismuth oxidation states

During bond formation, the charge that appears on the element is called the oxidation state. Let us predict the oxidation state of Bismuth.

Bi shows variable valence from -3 to +5 due to the presence of a half-filled 6p orbital so it can gain 3 more electrons. The promotional energy of 6s to 6d is very low so it can show Penta valent unlike the case of nitrogen although they belong to the same group.

20. Bismuth CAS number

CAS number or CAS registration for any element is used to identify the unique element. Let us know the CAS number of the Bismuth.

The CAS number of the Bismuth molecule is 7440-69-9, which is given by the chemical abstracts service.

21. Bismuth Chem Spider ID

Chem Spider ID is the particular number given to a particular element by the Royal Society of Science to identify its character. Let us discuss it for Bismuth.

The Chem Spider ID for Bismuth is 4514266. By using this number, we can evaluate all the chemical data related to Bismuth.

22. Bismuth allotropic forms

Allotropes are elements or molecules with a similar chemical properties but different physical properties. Let us discuss the allotropic form of Bismuth.

Bismuth has no allotropic forms because it does not show catenation properties like carbon rather it shows an inert pair effect.

23. Bismuth chemical classification

Based on the chemical reactivity and nature, the elements are classified into some special class. Let us know the chemical classification of Bismuth.

Bismuth is classified into the following categories:

  • Bi is a post-transition pnictogen metal element
  • Bi is a mildly acidic oxide
  • Bi is a weak radioactive metal element
  • Bi is a weak reducing agent

24. Bismuth state at room temperature

The physical state of an atom is the state at which an element exists at room temperature and standard pressure. Let us predict the state of Bi at room temperature.

Bismuth exists in a solid state at room temperature because it has higher Van der Waal’s interaction. In the crystal form, it adopts rhombohedral geometry so the atoms exist very close to each other. The randomness of the atom is very high at room temperature.

The solid-state of Bismuth can be changed to liquid at a very low temperature, where the randomness will be decreased for the Bismuth atom.

25. Is Bismuth paramagnetic?

Paramagnetism is the tendency of magnetization in the direction of the magnetic field. Let us see whether Bismuth is paramagnetic or not.

Bismuth is paramagnetic due to the presence of three unpaired electrons in the valence 6p orbital and the molar susceptibility value is −280.1×10−6 cm3/mol.

Conclusion

Bi is a post-transition pnictogen metal element. Due to its weak radioactive nature, it can be used to form different isotopes of another element which can be useful.