The mineralogy of Cadmium
| General Properties | |
|---|---|
| Symbol: | Cd |
| Atomic Number: | 48 |
| Standard atomic weight (Ar): | 112.411(8) |
| Electron configuration: | [Kr] 4d10 5s2 |
| Photos | ||
|---|---|---|
     | ||
| < | A crystal cadmium bar. | > |
| Atomic Properties | |
|---|---|
| Electronegativity (Pauling scale): | 1.69 |
| Atomic Radius: | 161 pm |
| Ionic Radius: | 95 pm (+2) |
| Van der Waals Radius: | 158 pm |
| 1st Ionization energy: | 868 kJ/mol |
| Oxidation States: | 2 |
| Physical Properties | |
|---|---|
| Standard State: | solid |
| Bonding Type: | metallic |
| Melting Point: | 594 K |
| Boiling Point: | 1040 K |
| Density: | 8.65 g/cm3 |
| Metal/Non-Metal: | transition metal |
| Main isotopes of Cadmium | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isotope | % in Nature | Half Life | Decay type | Decay product |
| 106Cd | 1.25% | >4.1×1020y | β+β+ ? | 106Pd |
| 107Cd | synthetic | 6.5h | ε | 107Ag |
| 108Cd | 0.89% | >4.1×1017y | β+β+ ? | |
| 109Cd | syn | 462.6d | ε | 109Ag |
| 110Cd | 12.49% | - | Spontaneous fission ? | |
| 111Cd | 12.8% | - | Spontaneous fission ? | |
| 112Cd | 24.13% | - | Spontaneous fission ? | |
| 113Cd | 12.22% | 7.7×1015y | β− | 113In |
| 113mCd | synthetic | 14.1y | β− | 113In |
| Isomeric transition | 113Cd | |||
| 114Cd | 28.73% | >6.4×1018y | β-β- ? | 114Sn |
| 115Cd | synthetic | 53.46h | β− | 115In |
| 116Cd | 7.49% | 3.1×1019y | β-β- | 116Sn |
| Main ions of Cadmium | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Ion | Example minerals | ||
| cadmium(II) | Cd2+ | Greenockite | ||
| Other Information | |
|---|---|
| Year Discovered: | 1817 |
| Discovered By: |  Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann  Friedrich Stromeyer Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann and Friedrich Stromeyer |
| Year Isolated: | 1817 |
| Isolated By: | Karl Samuel Leberecht Hermann and Friedrich Stromeyer |
| Named For: | Greek "calamine", a cadmium-bearing mixture of minerals |
| CPK color coding: | #FFD98F |
| External Links: | WikipediaWebElementsLos Alamos National LaboratoryTheodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com |
| Simple Compounds and Mineral Names | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nitrides | tricadmium dinitride | Cd3N2 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sulfides | cadmium sulphide | CdS | +2 | Greenockite, Hawleyite | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selenides | cadmium selenide | CdSe | +2 | Cadmoselite | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tellurides | cadmium telluride | CdTe | +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hydrides | cadmium dihydride | CdH2 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fluorides | cadmium difluoride | CdF2 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chlorides | cadmium dichloride | CdCl2 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iodides | cadmium diiodide | CdI2 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oxides | cadmium oxide | CdO | +2 | Monteponite | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| cadmium peroxide | CdO2 | +2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mineral Diversity of Cadmium | |
|---|---|
| 1. Elements | 1 valid mineral species |
| 2. Sulfides And Sulfosalts | 14 valid mineral species |
| 4. Oxides | 2 valid mineral species |
| 5. Carbonates | 1 valid mineral species |
| 7. Sulfates | 7 valid mineral species |
| 8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates | 6 valid mineral species |
| Total: | 31 valid species containing essential Cadmium |
| Geochemistry of Cadmium | |
|---|---|
| Goldschmidt classification: | Chalcophile |
| Elemental Abundance for Cadmium | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crust (CRC Handbook) | 1.5 x 10-7 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Kaye & Laby) | 1.8 x 10-7 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Greenwood) | 1.6 x 10-7 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Ahrens/Taylor) | 9.8 x 10-8 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Ahrens/Wänke) | 1.00 x 10-7 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor) | 9.8 x 10-8 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Sea Water (CRC Handbook) | 1.1 x 10-10 | mass per volume fraction, kg/L |
| Sea Water (Kaye & Laby) | 1.1 x 10-10 | mass per volume fraction, kg/L |
| The Sun (Kaye & Laby) | 2.0 x 10-6 | atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 |
| Solar System (Kaye & Laby) | 1.6 x 10-6 | atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 |
| Solar System (Ahrens) | 1.61 x 10-6 (6.5%) | atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty) |
| Element association of Cadmium in the Mineral World | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Cadmium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements. The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Cadmium and the element listed for that row. The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Cadmium. The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row. Click on a heading to sort. |
| Periodic Table | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Silver << Cadmium >> Indium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most widespread minerals containing Cadmium | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This list of minerals containing Cadmium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Cadmium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species. |
| Name | Formula | Crystal System | Mindat Localities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenockite | CdS | Hexagonal | 840 |
| Hawleyite | CdS | Isometric | 76 |
| Ramdohrite | Pb5.9Fe0.1Mn0.1In0.1Cd0.2Ag2.8Sb10.8S24 | Monoclinic | 42 |
| Otavite | CdCO3 | Trigonal | 34 |
| Niedermayrite | CdCu4(SO4)2(OH)6 · 4H2O | Monoclinic | 12 |
| Černýite | Cu2(Cd,Zn,Fe)SnS4 | Tetragonal | 10 |
| Cadmium | Cd | Hexagonal | 6 |
| Cadmoselite | CdSe | Hexagonal | 6 |
| Monteponite | CdO | Isometric | 6 |
| Edwardsite | Cu3Cd2(SO4)2(OH)6 · 4H2O | Monoclinic | 5 |
| Photos |
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| Localities with greatest number of different Cadmium mineral species |
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| Important ores of Cadmium | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The primary ore of cadmium is the zinc mineral sphalerite - in which cadmium is often a small, but significant, impurity. |
| Name | Formula | Crystal System |
|---|---|---|
| Sphalerite | ZnS | Isometric |
| Photos |
|---|
| Other significant minerals containing Cadmium | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Formula | Crystal System |
|---|---|---|
| Greenockite | CdS | Hexagonal |
| Hawleyite | CdS | Isometric |
| Photos |
|---|
Spotted a mistake/omission? - These pages are a work in progress, so please send all comments/corrections to jolyon@mindat.org. Thank you.
Constants and physical property data from:
David R. Lide (ed.), CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 85th Edition. CRC Press. Boca Raton, Florida (2005).
Kaye and Laby Tables of Physical & Chemical Constants (2005). Section 3.1.3, Abundances of the elements
A. Earnshaw, N. Greenwood, Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, (1997)
Thomas J. Ahrens (ed.), Global Earth Physics : A Handbook of Physical Constants, American Geophysical Union (1995)
L.B. Railsback, An Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions : Geology 31:9 p737-740 (2003)
Emsley, J. Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. New York: Oxford University Press (2001)
