Aluminium and Gallium - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of aluminium and gallium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Aluminium vs Gallium.

aluminium and gallium - comparison

Compare aluminium with another element

Compare gallium with another element

Aluminium and Gallium – About Elements

Aluminium

Aluminium is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic, ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth’s crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below.

Gallium

Gallium has similarities to the other metals of the group, aluminium, indium, and thallium. Gallium does not occur as a free element in nature, but as gallium(III) compounds in trace amounts in zinc ores and in bauxite.

Aluminium in Periodic Table

Gallium in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Aluminium and Gallium – Applications

Aluminium

Aluminium and its alloys are used widely in aerospace, automotive, architectural, lithographic, packaging, electrical and electronic applications. It is the prime material of construction for the aircraft industry throughout most of its history. About 70% of commercial civil aircraft airframes are made from aluminium alloys, and without aluminium civil aviation would not be economically viable. Automotive industry now includes aluminium as engine castings, wheels, radiators and increasingly as body parts. 6111 aluminium and 2008 aluminium alloy are extensively used for external automotive body panels. Cylinder blocks and crankcases are often cast made of aluminium alloys.

Gallium

Gallium consumption is centred on the superconductor industry. Semiconductor applications dominate the commercial demand for gallium, accounting for 98% of the total. When alloyed with arsenic to produce gallium arsenide (GaAs), it can convert electricity to light. Due to such properties, it is used in LEDs, and has been found to produce less heat than silicon, rendering it suitable for use in supercomputers.

Aluminium and Gallium – Comparison in Table

Element	Aluminium	Gallium
Density	2.7 g/cm3	5.904 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	90 MPa (pure), 600 MPa (alloys)	15 MPa
Yield Strength	11 MPa (pure), 400 MPa (alloys)	8 MPa
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	70 GPa	9.8 GPa
Mohs Scale	2.8	1.5
Brinell Hardness	240 MPa	60 MPa
Vickers Hardness	167 MPa	N/A
Melting Point	660 °C	29.76 °C
Boiling Point	2467 °C	2204 °C
Thermal Conductivity	237 W/mK	40.6 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	23.1 µm/mK	18 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.9 J/g K	0.37 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	10.79 kJ/mol	5.59 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	293.4 kJ/mol	258.7 kJ/mol