Zinc
transition metal · period 4 · group 12 · d-block
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a silvery-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed.
What the numbers say
At standard temperature and pressure Zinc is a solid, sitting in period 4, group 12 of the d-block.
Its melting point of 693 K (420 °C) is the 75th highest of the 110 elements with a measured value — mid-range among the elements.
At 7.14 g/cm³ it is the 49th densest of 96 elements with a quoted density.
Pauling electronegativity is 1.65. Paired with oxygen (3.44) that is a difference of 1.79, which puts the bond predominantly ionic — expect a stable oxide ceramic.
In the solid state it takes a simple hexagonal structure — hexagonal packing offers few easy slip systems, so properties are anisotropic and formability is limited.
It is reported in 2 oxidation states (1, 2), which sets how many distinct compounds and phases it can form.
First identified in 1500.
Crystal structure
Solid Zinc adopts a Simple Hexagonal arrangement, in the Hexagonal system — axes a = b ≠ c, angles α = β = 90°, γ = 120°. Symmetry controls the anisotropy of stiffness and thermal expansion, and the available slip systems set how far the metal deforms before it fractures.
Crystallographic examples
Zinc or one of its compounds is a textbook example for this crystal system:
- Hexagonal — Mg, Zn, Ti-α, graphite, ZnO (wurtzite), ice Ih
Check it against computed structures
The structure search queries the Materials Project, OQMD and the Open Materials Database for computed crystal structures containing Zn — with DFT formation energy, hull stability and band gap where the provider publishes them.
K 2 · L 8 · M 18 · N 2
Properties
| Atomic number | 30 |
|---|---|
| Atomic mass | 65.382 u |
| Series | transition metal |
| Group | 12 |
| Period | 4 |
| Block | d-block |
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Density | 7.14 g/cm³ |
| Melting point | 692.68 K (420 °C) |
| Boiling point | 1180 K (907 °C) |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.65 |
| Electron configuration | [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s² |
| Crystal structure | Simple Hexagonal |
| Oxidation states | 1,2 |
| Discovered | 1500 |
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See Zn in context with all 118 elements.
Working with zinc in a real design?
Ask the materials chat how Zn behaves in your alloy system, what it does to weldability, and which grades to look at — with the source of every number named.