Cadmium - Properties - Price - Applications

About Cadmium

Cadmium is a soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. In nuclear industry cadmium is commonly used as a thermal neutron absorber due to very high neutron absorption cross-section of 113Cd. 113Cd has specific absorption cross-section.

Summary

Element	Cadmium
Atomic number	48
Element category	Transition Metal
Phase at STP	Solid
Density	8.65 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	75 MPa
Yield Strength	N/A
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	50 GPa
Mohs Scale	2
Brinell Hardness	203 MPa
Vickers Hardness	N/A
Melting Point	321.07 °C
Boiling Point	767 °C
Thermal Conductivity	97 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	30.8 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.23 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	6.192 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	99.57 kJ/mol
Electrical resistivity [nanoOhm meter]	72.7
Magnetic Susceptibility	−20e-6 cm^3/mol

Applications of Cadmium

Cadmium is primarily consumed for the production of rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries. In 2009, 86% of cadmium was used in batteries, predominantly in rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. Other end uses include pigments, coatings and plating, and as stabilizers for plastics. Solar cell manufacturing may become another significant market for cadmium in the future. In nuclear industry cadmium is commonly used as a thermal neutron absorber due to very high neutron absorption cross-section of 113Cd. 113Cd has specific absorption cross-section.

Production and Price of Cadmium

Raw materials prices change daily. They are primarily driven by supply, demand and energy prices. In 2019, prices of pure Cadmium were at around 60 $/kg.

Cadmium is generally recovered as a byproduct from zinc concentrates. Zinc-to-cadmium ratios in typical zinc ores range from 200:1 to 400:1. Sphalerite (ZnS), the most economically significant zinc mineral, commonly contains minor amounts of other elements; cadmium, which shares certain similar chemical properties with zinc, will often substitute for zinc in the sphalerite crystal lattice.

Source: www.luciteria.com

Mechanical Properties of Cadmium

Strength of Cadmium

In mechanics of materials, the strength of a material is its ability to withstand an applied load without failure or plastic deformation. Strength of materials basically considers the relationship between the external loads applied to a material and the resulting deformation or change in material dimensions. In designing structures and machines, it is important to consider these factors, in order that the material selected will have adequate strength to resist applied loads or forces and retain its original shape. Strength of a material is its ability to withstand this applied load without failure or plastic deformation.

For tensile stress, the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to elongate is known as ultimate tensile strength (UTS). Yield strength or yield stress is the material property defined as the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically whereas yield point is the point where nonlinear (elastic + plastic) deformation begins.

Ultimate Tensile Strength of Cadmium

Ultimate tensile strength of Cadmium is 75 MPa.

Yield Strength of Cadmium

Yield strength of Cadmium is N/A.

Modulus of Elasticity of Cadmium

The Young’s modulus of elasticity of Cadmium is N/A.

Hardness of Cadmium

In materials science, hardness is the ability to withstand surface indentation (localized plastic deformation) and scratching. Brinell hardness test is one of indentation hardness tests, that has been developed for hardness testing. In Brinell tests, a hard, spherical indenter is forced under a specific load into the surface of the metal to be tested.

Brinell hardness of Cadmium is approximately 203 MPa.

The Vickers hardness test method was developed by Robert L. Smith and George E. Sandland at Vickers Ltd as an alternative to the Brinell method to measure the hardness of materials. The Vickers hardness test method can be also used as a microhardness test method, which is mostly used for small parts, thin sections, or case depth work.

Vickers hardness of Cadmium is approximately N/A.

Scratch hardness is the measure of how resistant a sample is to permanent plastic deformation due to friction from a sharp object. The most common scale for this qualitative test is Mohs scale, which is used in mineralogy. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is based on the ability of one natural sample of mineral to scratch another mineral visibly.

Cadmium is has a hardness of approximately 2.

Cadmium – Crystal Structure

A possible crystal structure of Cadmium is hexagonal close-packed structure.

In metals, and in many other solids, the atoms are arranged in regular arrays called crystals. A crystal lattice is a repeating pattern of mathematical points that extends throughout space. The forces of chemical bonding causes this repetition. It is this repeated pattern which control properties like strength, ductility, density, conductivity (property of conducting or transmitting heat, electricity, etc.), and shape. There are 14 general types of such patterns known as Bravais lattices.

Crystal Structure of Cadmium

Strength of Elements

Elasticity of Elements

Hardness of Elements

Thermal Properties of Cadmium

Cadmium – Melting Point and Boiling Point

Melting point of Cadmium is 321.07°C.

Boiling point of Cadmium is 767°C.

Note that, these points are associated with the standard atmospheric pressure.

Cadmium – Thermal Conductivity

Thermal conductivity of Cadmium is 97 W/(m·K).

The heat transfer characteristics of a solid material are measured by a property called the thermal conductivity, k (or λ), measured in W/m.K. It is a measure of a substance’s ability to transfer heat through a material by conduction. Note that Fourier’s law applies for all matter, regardless of its state (solid, liquid, or gas), therefore, it is also defined for liquids and gases.

Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Cadmium

Linear thermal expansion coefficient of Cadmium is 30.8 µm/(m·K)

Thermal expansion is generally the tendency of matter to change its dimensions in response to a change in temperature. It is usually expressed as a fractional change in length or volume per unit temperature change.

Cadmium – Specific Heat, Latent Heat of Fusion, Latent Heat of Vaporization

Specific heat of Cadmium is 0.23 J/g K.

Heat capacity is an extensive property of matter, meaning it is proportional to the size of the system. Heat capacity C has the unit of energy per degree or energy per kelvin. When expressing the same phenomenon as an intensive property, the heat capacity is divided by the amount of substance, mass, or volume, thus the quantity is independent of the size or extent of the sample.

Latent Heat of Fusion of Cadmium is 6.192 kJ/mol.

Latent Heat of Vaporization of Cadmium is 99.57 kJ/mol.

Latent heat is the amount of heat added to or removed from a substance to produce a change in phase. This energy breaks down the intermolecular attractive forces, and also must provide the energy necessary to expand the gas (the pΔV work). When latent heat is added, no temperature change occurs. The enthalpy of vaporization is a function of the pressure at which that transformation takes place.

Melting Point of Elements

Thermal Conductivity of Elements

Thermal Expansion of Elements

Heat Capacity of Elements

Heat of Fusion of Elements

Heat of Vaporization of Elements

Cadmium – Electrical Resistivity – Magnetic Susceptibility

Electrical property refers to the response of a material to an applied electric field. One of the principal characteristics of materials is their ability (or lack of ability) to conduct electrical current. Indeed, materials are classified by this property, that is, they are divided into conductors, semiconductors, and nonconductors.

Electrical Resistivity of Cadmium

Electrical resistivity of Cadmium is 72.7 nΩ⋅m.

Electrical conductivity and its converse, electrical resistivity, is a fundamental property of a material that quantifies how Cadmium conducts the flow of electric current. Electrical conductivity or specific conductance is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity.

Magnetic Susceptibility of Cadmium

Magnetic susceptibility of Cadmium is −20e-6 cm^3/mol.

In electromagnetism, magnetic susceptibility is the measure of the magnetization of a substance. Magnetic susceptibility is a dimensionless proportionality factor that indicates the degree of magnetization of Cadmium in response to an applied magnetic field.