Sulfur

Sulfur (in nontechnical British English: sulphur) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic.

What the numbers say

At standard temperature and pressure Sulfur is a solid, sitting in period 3, group 16 of the p-block.

Its melting point of 388 K (115 °C) is the 87th highest of the 110 elements with a measured value — mid-range among the elements.

At 1.96 g/cm³ it is the 76th densest of 96 elements with a quoted density.

Pauling electronegativity is 2.58. Paired with oxygen (3.44) that is a difference of 0.86, which puts the bond polar covalent — oxides here tend to be semiconducting or refractory rather than salt-like.

In the solid state it takes a face-centered orthorhombic structure.

It is reported in 8 oxidation states (-2, -1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), which sets how many distinct compounds and phases it can form.

First identified in c. 500 BCE.

Crystal structure

Crystallographic examples

Sulfur or one of its compounds is a textbook example for these crystal systems:

• Orthorhombic — α-S, cementite Fe₃C, aragonite CaCO₃, olivine
• Monoclinic — β-S, gypsum, monoclinic ZrO₂, augite

Check it against computed structures

The structure search queries the Materials Project, OQMD and the Open Materials Database for computed crystal structures containing S — with DFT formation energy, hull stability and band gap where the provider publishes them.