Holmium (Ho) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Holmium element (Ho) is in period 6 of a periodic table. Holmium is in the f-block and it is classified as a lanthanide on the periodic table.

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

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

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

Holmium Element (Information Table)

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

Appearance of holmium	Silvery white appearance
Atomic number of holmium	67
Symbol of holmium	Ho
Atomic mass of holmium	164.93 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in holmium	Protons: 67, Neutrons: 98, Electrons: 67
State of holmium (at STP)	Solid
Period number of holmium in periodic table	6
Block of holmium in periodic table	f-block
Category of holmium	Inner transition metals
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in holmium	2, 8, 18, 29, 8, 2
Electron configuration of holmium	[Xe] 4f11 6s2
Orbital diagram of holmium
Electronegativity of holmium (on pauling scale)	1.23
Atomic radius of holmium (van der Waals radius)	216 picometers
Density of holmium	8.8 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of holmium	6.022 eV
Main isotope of holmium	165Ho
Melting point of holmium	1734 K or 1461 °C or 2662 °F
Boiling point of holmium	2873 K or 2600 °C or 4712 °F
Crystal structure of holmium	Hexagonal Close Packing (HCP)
Discovery of holmium	By Marc Delafontaine and Jacques Louis Soret (in 1878)

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).

Holmium element in Periodic table

The Holmium element (Ho) has the atomic number 67 and is located in period 6. Holmium is a metal and it is classified as a lanthanide group element.

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

Facts about holmium

Here are a few interesting facts about the holmium element.

1. The name Holmium came from the Greek word “Holmia”, which means stockholm.
2. China, USA, Sri Lanka, India and Brazil are the major producers of holmium.
3. Holmium is the 56^th most abundant element found from the earth’s crust.
4. The concentration of holmium in the earth’s crust is around 1.2 ppm by weight.
5. Marc Delafontaine and Jacques Louis Soret are the two scientists who discovered holmium in the year 1878.

Properties of holmium

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

Physical properties of holmium

• Holmium has a silvery white metallic appearance.
• Holmium has HCP crystal structure.
• The density of holmium is 8.8 g/cm³ and its atomic mass is 164.93 amu.
• Holmium has many isotopes and the most abundant isotope is ¹⁶⁵Ho.
• The melting point and boiling point of holmium is 1734 K and 2873 K respectively.

Chemical properties of holmium

• Holmium is a reactive metal and it is always found with other compounds from the earth’s crust.
• The most common oxidation state of holmium is 3+.
• Holmium tarnishes when it is kept open in the moist air, and it forms holmium oxide.

Uses of holmium

Here are some uses of the holmium element.

• Holmium is used as an alloying element with other metals to prepare magnets.
• Holmium oxide is used in the manufacturing of yellow colored glass.
• Holmium is used in solid state lasers and also in treating kidney stones and cancer.

External resources:

1. Holmium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Holmium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/67/holmium
2. P. (n.d.). Holmium | Ho (Element) – PubChem. Holmium | Ho (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Holmium
3. Holmium – Wikipedia. (2019, December 30). Holmium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmium
4. Bondi, A. (1964, March). van der Waals Volumes and Radii. The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 68(3), 441–451. https://doi.org/10.1021/j100785a001
5. Holden, et al. (2018, December 1). IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements and Isotopes (IPTEI) for the Education Community (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 90(12), 1833–2092. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0703
6. Zhang, et al. (2011, January 11). Corrected Values for Boiling Points and Enthalpies of Vaporization of Elements in Handbooks. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, 56(2), 328–337. https://doi.org/10.1021/je1011086
7. It’s Elemental – The Element Holmium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Holmium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele067.html
8. Atomic Data for Holmium (Ho). (n.d.). Atomic Data for Holmium (Ho). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables/holmiumtable1.htm
9. Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. (n.d.). Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://periodic.lanl.gov/67.shtml
10. Atomic Weight of Holmium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. (n.d.). Atomic Weight of Holmium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. https://ciaaw.org/holmium.htm
11. Holmium | Ho | ChemSpider. (n.d.). Holmium | Ho | ChemSpider. http://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.22424.html?rid=09a1ce25-aafc-4812-ab99-495beb906607
12. Prohaska, T., et al. (2022, May 1). Standard atomic weights of the elements 2021 (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 94(5), 573–600. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0603
13. Haynes, W. M. (Ed.). (2014, June 4). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17118
14. Kaye, G W.C., & Laby, T H. Tables of physical and chemical constants. 15th Edition. United States.
15. Sansonetti, J. E., & Martin, W. C. (2005, December). Handbook of Basic Atomic Spectroscopic Data. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, 34(4), 1559–2259. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1800011