|
General |
Name, Symbol, Number | Technetium, Tc, 43 |
Chemical series | Transition metals |
Group, Period, Block | 7[?], 5 , d |
Density, Hardness | 11500 kg/m3, NA |
Appearance | Silvery gray metallic |
Atomic Properties |
Atomic weight | [98] amu |
Atomic radius (calc.) | 135 (183) pm |
Covalent radius | 156 pm |
van der Waals radius | no data |
Electron configuration | [Kr]4d6 5s1 |
e- 's per energy level | 2, 8, 18, 14, 1 |
Oxidation state (Oxide) | 7 (strong acid) |
Crystal structure | Hexagonal |
Physical Properties |
State of matter | Solid (__) |
Melting point | 2430 K (3915 °F) |
Boiling point | 4538 K (7709 °F) |
Molar volume | 8.63 ×10-3 m3/mol |
Heat of vaporization | 660 kJ/mol |
Heat of fusion | 24 kJ/mol |
Vapor pressure | 0.0229 Pa at 2473 K |
Speed of sound | no data |
Miscellaneous |
Electronegativity | 1.9 (Pauling scale) |
Specific heat capacity | 210 J/(kg*K) |
Electrical conductivity | 6.7 106/m ohm |
Thermal conductivity | 50.6 W/(m*K) |
1st ionization potential | 702 kJ/mol |
2nd ionization potential | 1470 kJ/mol |
3rd ionization potential | 2850 kJ/mol |
Most Stable Isotopes |
|
SI units & STP are used except where noted. |
Technetium is a
chemical element in the
periodic table that has the symbol Tc and
atomic number 43. A silvery gray,
radioactive, crystalline
transition metal that is not found in nature, technetium occurs as one of the fission products of
uranium and is used in bone imaging and corrosion protection. Chemical properties of this element are intermediate between
rhenium and
manganese.
Technetium is a silvery-gray
metal that slowly tarnishes in moist air. Under oxidizing conditions technetium (VII) will exist as the pertechnetate
ion, TcO
4-. The chemistry of technetium is intermediate between rhenium and manganese. Technetium dissolves in
aqua regia,
nitric acid, and concentrated
sulfuric acid, but it is not soluble in
hydrochloric acid. This element is a very good
corrosion inhibitor for
steel and the metal is an excellent
superconductor at temperatures below 11
K.
This element is unusual because it has no stable isotopes and is therefore extremely rare on earth. Common oxidation states of technetium include +2, +4, +5, +6 and +7.
Technetium is one of the most powerful known preventatives of
rust, and is also a valuable source of
beta rays. Ammonium pertechnate (
NH4Tc
O4), is a specialized corrosion preventer for
steel. Five parts per million of
KTcO
4 in aerated
distilled water protects mild carbon steel at temperatures up to 250 °
C. This protection is limited to closed systems due to the radioactive nature of technetium. Other uses;
- Tcm-95 ("m" stands for meta state) with a half-life of 61 days is used in radioactive tracer studies.
- Tcm-99 (half-life 6.01 hours) is used in many radioactive isotope medical tests due to its short half-life, the gamma ray energy it emits, and its ability to chemically bind to many active biomolecules[?].
- Organic technetium compounds are used in bone imaging.
Technetium (
Greek technetos meaning "artificial") was
discovered by
Carlo Perrier[?] and
Emillo Segre[?] in Italy in
1937. The researchers found it in a sample of
molybdenum sent to them by
Ernest Lawrence. The sample was bombarded by
deuterium nuclei in the
University of California, Berkeley cyclotron which gave them the isotope Tc-97. Technetium was the first element to be artificially produced.
For a number of years there was a gap in the periodic table at element 43. Dmitri Mendeleev predicted that this missing element would be chemically similar to manganese and gave it the name ekamanganese. In 1925 element 43 was erroneously reported as discovered and was given the name masurium. The development of nuclear energy in the mid 20th century generated the first known samples of element 43 by nuclear reactions.
Once it was available in macroscopic quantities i.e. enough to determine its chemical and physical properties, it was discovered to exist naturally elsewhere in the universe. Some
red giant stars (S-, M-, and N-types) contain an emission line in their spectrum corresponding to the presence of technetium. Its presence in red giants has led to the establishment of new theories about the production of heavy elements in stars.
Since its discovery, there have been many searches in terrestrial materials for natural sources. In 1962, technetium-99 was isolated and identified in pitchblende from Africa in very small quantities as a spontaneous fission product of uranium-238. This discovery was made by B.T. Kenna and P.K. Kuroda.
Tc-99 is produced as a fission product from the fission of uranium in nuclear reactors[?] and it is prepared by chemically separating it from reactor waste.
Technetium is one of two elements in the first 83 that have no stable
isotopes (the other element is
promethium). The most stable
radioisotopes are Tc-98 with a
half-life of 4.2 million years, Tc-97 (half-life: 2.6 million years) and Tc-99 (half-life: 211,100 years).
Twenty-two other radioisotopes have been characterized with atomic weights ranging from 87.933 amu (Tc-88) to 112.931 amu (Tc-113). Most of these have half-lives that are less than an hour except Tc-93 (2.75 hours), Tc-94 (293 minutes), Tc-95 (20 hours), and Tc-96 (4.28 days). There are also numerous meta states with Tcm-97 being the most stable with a half-life of 90.1 days (0.097 MeV). This is followed by Tcm-95 (half life: 61 days, 0.038 MeV), and Tcm-99 (half-life: 6.01 hours, 0.143 MeV).
The primary decay mode before the most stable isotope, Tc-98, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta emission with one instance of election capture during the first mode of the two mode decay of Tc-100. The primary decay product before Tc-98 is molybdenum and the primary product after is ruthenium (the product of the first decay mode of Tc-100 is Mo, however).
Compounds containing this element are encountered extremely rarely by most people and is for practical purposes not found in nature. Tc-99 is a contamination hazard and should be handled in a glove box. All isotopes of technetium are highly radioactive and are thus very toxic. Technetium has no natural biological role.