Polonium (Po) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Polonium element (Po) is in group 16 and period 6 of a periodic table. Polonium is in the p-block and it is classified as a post-transition element on the periodic table.

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

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

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

Polonium Element (Information Table)

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

Appearance of polonium	Silvery gray appearance
Atomic number of polonium	84
Symbol of polonium	Po
Atomic mass of polonium (most stable isotope)	209 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in polonium	Protons: 84, Neutrons: 125, Electrons: 84
State of polonium (at STP)	Solid
Group number of polonium in periodic table	16
Period number of polonium in periodic table	6
Block of polonium in periodic table	p-block
Category of polonium	Post transition element (chalcogens)
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in polonium	2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 6
Electron configuration of polonium	[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p4
Orbital diagram of polonium
Valence electrons in polonium	6
Electronegativity of polonium (on pauling scale)	2
Atomic radius of polonium (van der Waals radius)	197 picometers
Density of polonium	9.16 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of polonium	8.417 eV
Main isotope of polonium	210Po
Melting point of polonium	527 K or 254 °C or 489 °F
Boiling point of polonium	1235 K or 962 °C or 1764 °F
Crystal structure of polonium	Simple cubic

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).

Polonium element in Periodic table

The Polonium element (Po) has the atomic number 84 and is located in group 16 and period 6. Polonium is a metal and it is classified as a post-transition element.

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

Facts about polonium

Here are a few interesting facts about the polonium element.

1. Polonium was given its name from the country “Poland”, where Marie curie was born.
2. Pierre Curie and Marie Curie discovered polonium in the year 1898.
3. The concentration of polonium in the earth’s crust is around 1 part per quadrillion, which is very less.
4. Polonium is mostly obtained from uranium ores.
5. Polonium is 400 times more radioactive than uranium.
6. Polonium is a highly radioactive element and it can emit as many alpha particles as 5 kg of radium.

Properties of polonium

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

Physical properties of polonium

• Polonium has a silvery gray appearance.
• The density of polonium is 9.16 g/cm³ and its atomic mass is 209 amu.
• There are many isotopes of polonium, and the isotope ²¹⁰Po is available in very rare amounts. Most of the isotopes of polonium are artificially prepared in the lab.
• The melting point and boiling point of polonium is 527 K and 1235 K respectively.

Chemical properties of polonium

• Polonium is a radioactive element and it is also toxic.
• Polonium is less soluble in alkalis.
• Polonium gets dissolved in dilute acids.
• Polonium solutions contain Po²⁺ ions and due to this the solution appears pink. When the alpha radiations are emitted, the Po²⁺ ions are converted into Po⁴⁺ ions and this makes the solution appear yellow in color.

Uses of polonium

Here are some uses of the polonium element.

• Polonium is used as a heat source in radioisotope thermoelectric generators.
• Polonium can also be used in sheet metal rolling processes to eliminate the static electricity.
• Polonium is alloyed with beryllium and this alloy is used as a neutron source.

External resources:

1. Polonium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Polonium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/84/polonium
2. Polonium – Wikipedia. (2014, September 9). Polonium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium
3. P. (n.d.). Polonium | Po (Element) – PubChem. Polonium | Po (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Polonium
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5. Radiation Studies: CDC – Radiation: Polonium-210 | CDC RSB. (2014, January 7). Radiation Studies: CDC – Radiation: Polonium-210 | CDC RSB. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/polonium-210.htm
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8. Kaye, G W.C., & Laby, T H. Tables of physical and chemical constants. 15th Edition. United States.
9. 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
10. 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
11. 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
12. 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
13. Atomic Data for Polonium (Po). (n.d.). Atomic Data for Polonium (Po). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables/poloniumtable1.htm
14. C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – POLONIUM. (n.d.). C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – POLONIUM. https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/80th/polonium.html?
15. Ansoborlo, E. (2014, April 22). Poisonous polonium. Nature Chemistry, 6(5), 454–454. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1928