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91
Pa
231.036

Protactinium

Actinide Period 7 Block f

Protactinium is a chemical element of the periodic table with chemical symbol Pa and atomic number 91 with an atomic weight of 231.036 u and is classed as actinide. Protactinium is solid at room temperature.

Protactinium in the periodic table

SymbolPa
Atomic number91
Group-
Period7
Blockf
ClassificationActinide
AppearanceBright, silvery metallic luster
Color Silver
Number of protons91 p+
Number of neutrons140 n0
Number of electrons91 e-
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaProtactinium is a chemical element with symbol Pa and atomic number 91. It is a dense, silvery-gray metal which readily reacts with oxygen, water vapor and inorganic acids. It forms various chemical compounds where protactinium is usually present in the oxidation state +5, but can also assume +4 and even +2 or +3 states.

Physical properties

Phase at STPSolid
Density15.37 g/cm3
Atomic weight231.036 u

Thermal properties

Melting point1841 K
1567.85 °C
2854.13 °F
Boiling point4300 K
4026.85 °C
7280.33 °F
Heat of vaporization481.2 kJ/mol

Atomic properties

Electronegativity (Pauling Scale)1.5
Electron affinity53.03 kJ/mol
Oxidation states+2, +3, +4, +5
(a weakly basic oxide)
Ionization energies
  1. 568 kJ/mol
  2. 1128 kJ/mol
  3. 1814 kJ/mol
  4. 2991 kJ/mol

Electron configuration for protactinium

Electron configuration
Shorthand configuration
[Rn] 5f2 6d1 7s2
Full configuration1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 5s2 5p6 5d10 5f2 6s2 6p6 6d1 7s2
Electron configuration chart
1s2
2s22p6
3s23p63d10
4s24p64d104f14
5s25p65d105f2
6s26p66d1
7s2
Electrons per shell2, 8, 18, 32, 20, 9, 2
Outer shell electrons 2
Valency electrons 2,3,4,5
Bohr model
ProtactiniumElectron shell for Protactinium, created by Injosoft ABPa
Figure: Shell diagram of Protactinium (Pa) atom.
Orbital Diagram
1s
2s2p
3s3p3d
4s4p4d4f
5s5p5d5f
6s6p6d
7s

The history of Protactinium

PredictionDmitri Mendeleev
DiscoveryOswald Helmuth Göhring, Kazimierz Fajans (1913)
Named byOtto Hahn, Lise Meitner (1917)
Discovery of protactinium
Protactinium was first identified in 1913 by Kazimierz Fajans and Oswald Göhring as a short-lived isotope and named brevium. A longer-lived isotope, Pa-231, was isolated by Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn in 1917-1918, who proposed the present name meaning "parent of actinium" because it decays to actinium. It is one of the rarest naturally occurring elements.
Original wordprotos + aktinos
Language of origin Greek
Name sourceProperties
Meaning“First ray”
Naming
The name is derived from the Greek 'protos' (first) and aktinos (ray): protactinium decays into actinium and is therefore the 'parent of actinium'.

Identifiers

List of unique identifiers for Protactinium in various chemical registry databases
CAS Number7440-13-3
ChemSpider ID22387
EC number616-087-9
PubChem CID Number23945