Xenon

Xenon is a chemical element with the symbol Xe and atomic number 54. It is a colorless, dense, odorless noble gas found in Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts.

What the numbers say

At standard temperature and pressure Xenon is a gas, sitting in period 5, group 18 of the p-block.

Its melting point of 161 K (-112 °C) is the 101st highest of the 110 elements with a measured value — among the lowest-melting elements.

At 0.006 g/cm³ it is the 87th densest of 96 elements with a quoted density.

Pauling electronegativity is 2.6. Paired with oxygen (3.44) that is a difference of 0.84, 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 cubic structure — FCC packing gives 12 independent slip systems, which is why FCC metals are the ductile, formable ones.

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

First identified in 1898.

Crystal structure

Check it against computed structures

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