Potassium and Bromine - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of potassium and bromine, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Potassium vs Bromine.

potassium and bromine - comparison

Compare potassium with another element

Compare bromine with another element

Potassium and Bromine – About Elements

Potassium

Potassium was first isolated from potash, the ashes of plants, from which its name derives. In the periodic table, potassium is one of the alkali metals. All of the alkali metals have a single valence electron in the outer electron shell, which is easily removed to create an ion with a positive charge – a cation, which combines with anions to form salts. Naturally occurring potassium is composed of three isotopes, of which 40K is radioactive. Traces of 40K are found in all potassium, and it is the most common radioisotope in the human body.

Bromine

Bromine is the third-lightest halogen, and is a fuming red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured gas. Its properties are thus intermediate between those of chlorine and iodine.

Potassium in Periodic Table

Bromine in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Potassium and Bromine – Applications

Potassium

Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient for plant growth. It’s classified as a macronutrient because plants take up large quantities of K during their life cycle. Agricultural fertilizers consume 95% of global potassium chemical production, and about 90% of this potassium is supplied as KCl. Due to its high degree of reactivity, pure potassium is rarely used in its elemental /metallic form. It is used as a powerful reducing agent in organic chemistry. Potassium/Sodium alloys are It used as a heat exchange medium . The heat in the potassium warms water and makes it hot enough to boil. Then water is changed into steam, which is used to work devices that generate electricity.

Bromine

A wide variety of organobromine compounds are used in industry. Some are prepared from bromine and others are prepared from hydrogen bromide, which is obtained by burning hydrogen in bromine. Brominated flame retardants represent a commodity of growing importance, and make up the largest commercial use of bromine. One of the major uses of bromine is a water purifier/disinfectant, as an alternative to chlorine. Bromine compounds are effective pesticides, used both as soil fumigants in agriculture, particularly fruit-growing, and as a fumigant to prevent pests from attacking stored grain and other produce.

Potassium and Bromine – Comparison in Table

Element	Potassium	Bromine
Density	0.856 g/cm3	3.12 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	N/A	N/A
Yield Strength	N/A	N/A
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	3.53 GPa	N/A
Mohs Scale	0.4	N/A
Brinell Hardness	0.36 MPa	N/A
Vickers Hardness	N/A	N/A
Melting Point	63.25 °C	-7.3 °C
Boiling Point	760 °C	59 °C
Thermal Conductivity	102.4 W/mK	0.122 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	83 µm/mK	N/A
Specific Heat	0.75 J/g K	0.473 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	2.334 kJ/mol	5.286 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	79.87 kJ/mol	15.438 kJ/mol