Atomic Symbol: Zn
Atomic Number: 30
Atomic Weight: 65.38(2) g/mol
Isotopes and Abundances: Five stable isotopes: 64Zn, 49.17(75)%; 66Zn, 27.73(98)%; 67Zn, 4.04(16)%; 68Zn, 18.45(63)%; 70Zn, 0.61(10)%
1 Atm Melting Point: 419.6 °C
1 Atm Boiling Point: 907 °C
Common Valences: +2
Ionic Radii: 60 pm (4-fold) and 0.74 pm (6-fold)
Pauling Electronegativity: 1.65
First Ionization Energy: 906.4 kJ mol−1
Chondritic (CI) Abundance: 312 ppm
Silicate Earth Abundance: 55 ppm
Crustal Abundance: 70 ppm
Seawater Abundance: 35 ppb
Core Abundance: <5 ppm (?)
Properties
Zinc is a bluish-white, rather soft metal. Zinc has atomic number 30 and is the first of the group IIB elements in the periodic table. It has atomic mass 65.38(2) g/mol, density 7.14 g/cm3; its melting point of 419.6 °C is the lowest melting point of any transition metal aside from the other group IIB elements, Hg and Cd.
History and Use
Isolated examples of the use of impure zinc in ancient times have been...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anders E, Grevesse N (1989) Abundances of the elements: meteoritic and solar. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 53:197–214
Boyle RW (1961) Native zinc at Keno Hill. Can Mineral 6:692–694
Broadley MR, White PJ, Hammond JP, Zelko I, Lux A (2007) Zinc in plants. New Phytol 173:677–702
Karpov GA, Mokhov AV (2010) Microparticles of native metals, sulfides, and oxides in andesitic ashes of Karymskii Volcano. J Volcanol Seismol 4:164–179
McDonough WF, Sun S-S (1995) The composition of the Earth. Chem Geol 120:223–253
Mei Y, Sherman DM, Liu W, Etschmann B, Testemale D, Brugger J (2015) Zinc complexation in chloride-rich hydrothermal fluids (25–600 °C): a thermodynamic model derived from ab initio molecular dynamics. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 150:265–284
Nishimura M, Sandell EB (1964) Zinc in meteorites. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 28:1055–1079
Palme H, O’Neill H (2005) Cosmochemical estimates of mantle composition. In: Carlson RW (ed) The mantle and core. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 1–38
Zhong R, Brugger J, Chen Y, Li W (2015) Contrasting regimes of Cu, Zn and Pb transport in ore-forming hydrothermal fluids. Chem Geol 395:154–164
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Brugger, J. (2018). Zinc. In: White, W.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39312-4_212
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39312-4_212
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39311-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39312-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences