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69
Tm
168.934

Thulium

Lanthanide Period 6 Block f

Thulium is a chemical element of the periodic table with chemical symbol Tm and atomic number 69 with an atomic weight of 168.934 u and is classed as lanthanide. Thulium is solid at room temperature.

Thulium in the periodic table

SymbolTm
Atomic number69
Group-
Period6
Blockf
ClassificationLanthanide
AppearanceSilvery gray
Color Silver
Number of protons69 p+
Number of neutrons100 n0
Number of electrons69 e-
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThulium is a chemical element with symbol Tm and atomic number 69. It is the thirteenth and antepenultimate (third-last) element in the lanthanide series. Like the other lanthanides, the most common oxidation state is +3, seen in its oxide, halides and other compounds.

Physical properties

Phase at STPSolid
Density9.32 g/cm3
Atomic weight168.934 u

Thermal properties

Melting point1818 K
1544.85 °C
2812.73 °F
Boiling point2223 K
1949.85 °C
3541.73 °F
Heat of vaporization191 kJ/mol

Atomic properties

Electronegativity (Pauling Scale)1.25
Electron affinity99 kJ/mol
Oxidation states0, +2, +3
(a basic oxide)
Ionization energies
  1. 596.7 kJ/mol
  2. 1160 kJ/mol
  3. 2285 kJ/mol
  4. 4120 kJ/mol

Electron configuration for thulium

Electron configuration
Shorthand configuration
[Xe] 4f13 6s2
Full configuration1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f13 5s2 5p6 6s2
Electron configuration chart
1s2
2s22p6
3s23p63d10
4s24p64d104f13
5s25p6
6s2
Electrons per shell2, 8, 18, 31, 8, 2
Outer shell electrons 2
Valency electrons 3
Bohr model
ThuliumElectron shell for Thulium, created by Injosoft ABTm
Figure: Shell diagram of Thulium (Tm) atom.
Orbital Diagram
1s
2s2p
3s3p3d
4s4p4d4f
5s5p
6s

The history of Thulium

Discovery and first isolationPer Teodor Cleve (1879)
Discovery of thulium
Thulium was discovered by Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve in 1879 by looking for impurities in the oxides of other rare earth elements (this was the same method Carl Gustaf Mosander earlier used to discover some other rare earth elements). Cleve started by removing all of the known contaminants of erbia (Er2O3). Upon additional processing, he obtained two new substances; one brown and one green. The brown substance was the oxide of the element holmium and was named holmia by Cleve, and the green substance was the oxide of an unknown element. Cleve named the oxide thulia and its element thulium after Thule, an Ancient Greek place name associated with Scandinavia or Iceland. Thulium's atomic symbol was initially Tu, but later changed to Tm.
Original wordThule
Language of origin Greek
Name sourcePlace
Meaning“Thule (northern lands)”
Naming
The name is derived from Thule, the classical Greek and Roman name for the northernmost edge of the known world, often identified with Scandinavia.

Identifiers

List of unique identifiers for Thulium in various chemical registry databases
CAS Number7440-30-4
ChemSpider ID22400
EC number231-140-2
PubChem CID Number23961