Hafnium (Hf) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Hafnium element (Hf) is in group 4 and period 6 of a periodic table. Hafnium is in the d-block and it is classified as a transition element on the periodic table.

There is a lot more information related to hafnium which is mentioned in the Information Table given below.

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

• Hafnium element (Information Table)
• Hafnium element in Periodic table
• Facts about Hafnium
• Properties of Hafnium
• Uses of Hafnium

Hafnium Element (Information Table)

The important data related to hafnium element is given in the table below.

Appearance of hafnium	Gray metallic appearance
Atomic number of hafnium	72
Symbol of hafnium	Hf
Atomic mass of hafnium	178.49 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in hafnium	Protons: 72, Neutrons: 106, Electrons: 72
State of hafnium (at STP)	Solid
Group number of hafnium in periodic table	4
Period number of hafnium in periodic table	6
Block of hafnium in periodic table	d-block
Category of hafnium	Transition metal
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in hafnium	2, 8, 18, 32, 10, 2
Electron configuration of hafnium	[Xe] 4f14 5d2 6s2
Orbital diagram of hafnium
Electronegativity of hafnium (on pauling scale)	1.3
Atomic radius of hafnium (van der Waals radius)	212 picometers
Density of hafnium	13.31 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of hafnium	6.825 eV
Main isotope of hafnium	180Hf
Melting point of hafnium	2506 K or 2233 °C or 4051 °F
Boiling point of hafnium	4876 K or 4603 °C or 8317 °F
Crystal structure of hafnium	Hexagonal Close Packing (HCP)
Discovery of hafnium	By George de Hevesy and Dirk Coster in 1922

Also see: Interactive Periodic Table (It has rotating bohr models as well as many other details of all the 118 elements in a single periodic table).

Hafnium element in Periodic table

The Hafnium element (Hf) has the atomic number 72 and is located in group 4 and period 6. Hafnium is a metal and it is classified as a transition element.

Click on above elements in the periodic table to see their information.

Facts about hafnium

Here are a few interesting facts about the hafnium element.

1. George de Hevesy and Dirk Coster discovered the hafnium element in the year 1922.
2. Hafnium was given its name from the Latin word “Hafnia”, which means “Copenhagen”. Copenhagen is a city located in Denmark.
3. Hafnium metal can be extracted by refining zirconium.
4. The earth’s crust contains hafnium in the concentration of 3.3 ppm by weight.

Properties of hafnium

Here is a list of some physical properties and chemical properties of hafnium.

Physical properties of hafnium

• Hafnium has a gray metallic appearance.
• Hafnium has a density of 13.31 g/cm³ and its atomic mass is 178.49 amu.
• The melting point and boiling point of hafnium is 2506 K and 4876 K respectively.
• Hafnium has HCP crystal structure.
• There are many isotopes of hafnium, but out of those isotopes the most abundant isotope is ¹⁸⁰Hf.

Chemical properties of hafnium

• Hafnium does not react with alkalis as well as acids (Exception: hafnium is reactive to hydrofluoric acid (HF)).
• The most common oxidation state of hafnium is +4, but it shows other oxidation states too.
• Hafnium can easily react with halogens like fluorine, chlorine, bromine, etc. During this reaction, it forms tetrahalides.
• It has also been found that hafnium reacts with oxygen, carbon, boron, nitrogen, silicon and sulfur at elevated temperatures.

Uses of hafnium

Here are some uses of the hafnium element.

• Hafnium is used in control rods in nuclear reactors, because it has a property to absorb neutrons.
• Hafnium carbide can resist higher temperatures. Because of this reason, it is used in metal melting furnaces.
• Hafnium is also used as an alloying element with other metals to get the desired properties.

External resources:

1. Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. (n.d.). Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://periodic.lanl.gov/72.shtml
2. Atomic Weight of Hafnium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. (n.d.). Atomic Weight of Hafnium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. https://ciaaw.org/hafnium.htm
3. Atomic Data for Hafnium (Hf). (n.d.). Atomic Data for Hafnium (Hf). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables/hafniumtable1.htm
4. Hafnium | Hf | ChemSpider. (n.d.). Hafnium | Hf | ChemSpider. http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22422.html?rid=0b2960c8-6d43-4f3f-a4d6-a48c5e6feaa0&page_num=0
5. Zirconium and Hafnium Statistics and Information | U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.). Zirconium and Hafnium Statistics and Information | U.S. Geological Survey. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/zirconium-and-hafnium-statistics-and-information
6. C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – HAFNIUM. (n.d.). C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – HAFNIUM. https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/80th/hafnium.html?
7. Hafnium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Hafnium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/72/hafnium
8. Hafnium – Wikipedia. (2021, November 12). Hafnium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafnium
9. It’s Elemental – The Element Hafnium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Hafnium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele072.html
10. P. (n.d.). Hafnium | Hf (Element) – PubChem. Hafnium | Hf (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Hafnium
11. Possolo, et al. (2018, January 4). Interpreting and propagating the uncertainty of the standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 90(2), 395–424. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2016-0402
12. Emsley, J. (2011). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. United Kingdom: OUP Oxford.
13. Haynes, W. M. (Ed.). (2014, June 4). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17118
14. Electronic structure of the elements. (2000, March). The European Physical Journal C, 15(1–4), 78–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02683401
15. James A. M. & Lord M. P. (1992). Macmillan’s chemical and physical data. Macmillan.
16. Bedford, et al. (1996, April 1). Recommended values of temperature on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 for a selected set of secondary reference points. Metrologia, 33(2), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/33/2/3
17. Allred, A. (1961, June). Electronegativity values from thermochemical data. Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, 17(3–4), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1902(61)80142-5