Cadmium

Symbol: Cd
Atomic number: 48
Category: transition metals
Group: 12
Period: 5
Block: d
Atomic weight: 112.411 g/mol
Electrons per shell: 2, 8, 18, 18, 2
CAS number: 7440-43-9
Phase: solid
Density: 8.65 kg/dm³ (near room temperature)
Melting point: 594.22 K (321.07 °C, 609.93 °F)
Boiling point: 1040 K (767 °C, 1413 °F)
Crystal structure: hexagonal
Oxidation states: 1, 2
Electronegativity: 1.69 (Pauling scale)
Name's origin: Cadmus
Name's meaning: a mythological character in Greek
Facts:
- is a soft, bluish-white transition metal
- is a relatively abundant element
- was discovered in 1817 by Friedrich Strohmeyer as an impurity in zinc carbonate
- was for a long time used as pigment and for corrosion resistant plating on steel
- with the exception of its use in nickel-cadmium batteries, the use of cadmium is generally decreasing in all other applications
- is considered highly toxic and carcinogenic
- although cadmium is toxic, one enzyme, a carbonic anhydrase with a cadmium as reactive centre has been discovered
- in 2001, China was the top producer of cadmium with almost one-sixth world share closely followed by South Korea and Japan