Periodic table (crystal structure)

Periodic table (crystal structure)

The thermodynamically stable structures of metallic elements adopted at standard temperature and pressure (STP)
are color-coded and shown below. The only exception is mercury, Hg, which is a liquid and the structure refers to
the low temperature form. The melting points of the metals (in K) are shown above the element symbol. Most of the
metallic elements crystallize in variations of the cubic crystal system, with the exceptions noted. "Non-metallic"
elements, like the noble gases, are not crystalline solids at STP, while others, like carbon, may have several meta
stable allotropes at STP which of course can also occur for typical metals like e.g. tin.

Table

v
t
[1]
e

Crystal structure of elements in the periodic table

H

He

453.69 1560
Li
Be
bcc hcp

Ne

370.87 923
Na
Mg
bcc hcp

933.47
Al
fcc

Si

Cl

Ar

1357.8 692.68 302.91

Cu
Zn
Ga
fcc
hcp

Ge

As

Se

Br

Kr

505
Sn

904
Sb

Te

Xe

At

Rn

336.53 1115 1814 1941 2183 2180 1519 1811 1768 1728
K
Ca
Sc
Ti
V
Cr
Mn
Fe
Co
Ni
bcc
fcc hcp hcp bcc
bcc
bcc hcp
fcc
312.46 1050 1799 2128 2750 2896 2430 2607 2237 1828
Rb
Sr
Y
Zr
Nb
Mo
Tc
Ru
Rh
Pd
bcc
fcc hcp hcp bcc
bcc
hcp hcp fcc
fcc
301.59 1000
Cs
Ba
bcc bcc
Fr

973
Ra
bcc

1235
Ag
fcc

594
Cd

2506 3290 3695 3459 3306 2719 2041.4 1337.33 234.32

Hf
Ta
W
Re
Os
Ir
Pt
Au
Hg
hcp bcc
bcc
hcp hcp fcc
fcc
fcc
Rf

Db

Sg

Bh

Hs

Mt

Ds

430
In

577
Tl
hcp

600.61 544.7 527

Pb
Bi
Po
fcc

Rg

Cn

Uut

Fl

1193 1068 1208 1297 1315 1345 1099 1585

La
Ce
Pr
Nd
Pm Sm
Eu
Gd
dhcp fcc dhcp dhcp dhcp
bcc
hcp

1629
Tb
hcp

1680
Dy
hcp

1734
Ho
hcp

1802
Er
hcp

1323 2115 1841 1405.3 917 912.5 1449 1613

Ac Th
Pa
U
Np
Pu Am
Cm
fcc fcc
dhcp dhcp

1323
Bk
dhcp

1173
Cf
dhcp

1133
Es
fcc

Fm

Uup

Lv

Uus Uuo

1818 1097 1925

Tm Yb Lu
hcp fcc hcp
Md

No

Lr

Periodic table (crystal structure)

Legend:
The top number in the cell is the melting point (in K)

bcc: body centered cubic

fcc: face centered cubic (cubic close packed)

hcp: hexagonal close packed

dhcp: double hexagonal close packed

unusual structure
nonmetal
unknown or uncertain

Unusual structures
Element

crystal
system

coordination number

notes

Mn

cubic

distorted bcc unit cell contains Mn atoms in 4 different

environments

Zn

hexagonal

distorted from ideal hcp. 6 nearest neighbors in same plane- 6

in adjacent planes 14% farther away

Ga

orthorhombic

each Ga atom has one nearest neighbour at 244 pm, 2 at 270

pm, 2 at 273 pm, 2 at 279 pm.

Cd

hexagonal

distorted from ideal hcp. 6 nearest neighbours in the same

plane- 6 in adjacent planes 15% farther away

In

tetragonal

slightly distorted fcc structure

Sn

tetragonal

4 neighbours at 302 pm; 2 at 318 pm; 4 at 377 pm; 8 at 441

pm

Sb

rhombohedral puckered sheet; each Sb atom has 3 neighbours in the same

sheet at 290.8pm; 3 in adjacent sheet at 335.5 pm.

grey metallic form.

Hg

rhombohedral 6 nearest neighbours at 234 K and 1 atm (it is liquid at room

temperature and thus has no crystal structure at ambient
conditions!)

this structure can be considered to be a distorted hcp

lattice with the nearest neighbours in the same plane
being approx 16% farther away

Bi

rhombohedral puckered sheet; each Bi atom has 3 neighbours in the same

sheet at 307.2 pm; 3 in adjacent sheet at 352.9 pm.

Bi, Sb and grey As have the same space group in their

crystal

Po

cubic

6 nearest neighbours

simple cubic lattice. The atoms in the unit cell are at the
corner of a cube.

Sm

trigonal

12 nearest neighbours

complex hcp with 9 layer repeat, ABCBCACAB....

Pa

tetragonal

body centred tetragonal unit cell, which can be considered to

be a distorted bcc

The structure is related to Iodine.

white tin form (thermodynamical stable above 286.4 K)

[2]

Periodic table (crystal structure)

orthorhombic

strongly distorted hcp structure. Each atom has four near

neighbours, 2 at 275.4 pm, 2 at 285.4 pm. The next four at
[3]
distances 326.3 pm and four more at 334.2 pm.

Np

orthorhombic

highly distorted bcc structure. Lattice parameters: a=666.3

[4][5]
pm, b=472.3 pm, c=488.7 pm

Pu

monoclinic

slightly distorted hexagonal structure. 16 atoms per unit cell.

Lattice parameters: a= 618.3 pm, b=482.2 pm, c=1096.3 pm,
[6][7]
= 101.79

Usual crystal structures

Close packed metal structures
Many metals adopt close packed structures i.e. hexagonal close packed and face centred cubic structures (cubic close
packed). A simple model for both of these is to assume that the metal atoms are spherical and are packed together in
the most efficient way (close packing or closest packing). In closest packing every atom has 12 equidistant nearest
neighbours, and therefore a coordination number of 12. If the close packed structures are considered as being built of
layers of spheres then the difference between hexagonal close packing and face centred cubic each layer is
positioned relative to others. Whilst there are many ways can be envisaged for a regular build up of layers:
hexagonal close packing has alternate layers positioned directly above/below each other, A,B,A,B, ......... (also
termed P63/mmc, Pearson symbol hP2, strukturbericht A3) .
face centered cubic has every third layer directly above/below each other,A,B,C,A,B,C,.......(also termed cubic
close packing, Fm3m, Pearson symbol cF4, strukturbericht A1) .
double hexagonal close packing has layers directly above/below each other, A,B,A,C,A,B,A,C,.... of period length
4 like an alternative mixture of fcc and hcp packing (also termed P63/mmc, Pearson Symbol hP4, strukturbericht
A3' ).[8]
-Sm packing has a period of 9 layers A,B,A,B,C,B,C,A,C,.... (R3m, Pearson Symbol hR3, strukturbericht
C19).[9]
Hexagonal close packed
In the ideal hcp structure the unit cell axial ratio is

~ 1.633, However there are deviations from this in some

metals where the unit cell is distorted in one direction but the structure still retains the hcp space groupremarkable
all the elements have a ratio of lattice parameters c/a < 1.633 (best are Mg and Co and worst Be with c/a ~ 1.568). In
others like Zn and Cd the deviations from the ideal change the symmetry of the structure and these have a lattice
parameter ratio c/a > 1.85.

Periodic table (crystal structure)

Face centered cubic (cubic close packed)

More content relating to number of planes within structure and implications for glide/slide e.g. ductility.
Double hexagonal close packed
Similar as the ideal hcp structure, the perfect dhcp structure should hava a lattice parameter ratio of
3.267. In real dhcp structures of the 5 lanthanides (including -Ce)

variates between 1.596 (Pm) and 1.6128 (Nd).

For the 4 known actinides dhcp lattices the corresponding number variate between 1.620 (Bk) and 1.625 (Cf).[10]

Body centred cubic

This is not a close packed structure. In this each metal atom is at the centre of a cube with 8 nearest neighbors,
however the 6 atoms at the centres of the adjacent cubes are only approximately 15% further away so the
coordination number can therefore be considered to be 14 when these are included. Note that if the body centered
cubic unit cell is compressed along one 4 fold axis the structure becomes face centred cubic (cubic close packed).

Trends in melting point

Melting points are chosen as a simple, albeit crude, measure of the stability or strength of the metallic lattice. Some
simple trends can be noted. Firstly the transition metals have generally higher melting points than the others. In the
alkali metals (group 1) and alkaline earth metals (group 2) the melting point decreases as atomic number increases,
but in transition metal groups with incomplete d-orbital subshells, the heavier elements have higher melting points.
For a given period, the melting points reach a maximum at around group 6 and then fall with increasing atomic
number.

References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Periodic_table_(crystal_structure)& action=edit
[2] A.F Wells (1962) Structural Inorganic Chemistry 3d Edition Oxford University Press
[3] Harry L. Yakel, A REVIEW OF X-RAY DIFFRACTION STUDIES IN URANIUM ALLOYS. The Physical Metallurgy of Uranium Alloys
Conference, Vail, Colorado, Feb. 1974
[4] Lemire,R.J. et al.,Chemical Thermodynamics of Neptunium and Plutonium, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2001
[5] URL http:/ / cst-www. nrl. navy. mil/ lattice/ struk/ a_c. html
[6] Lemire,R.J. et al.,2001
[7] URL http:/ / cst-www. nrl. navy. mil/ lattice/ struk/ aPu. html
[8] URL http:/ / cst-www. nrl. navy. mil/ lattice/ struk/ a3p. html
[9] URL http:/ / cst-www. nrl. navy. mil/ lattice/ struk/ c19. html
[10] Nevill Gonalez Swacki & Teresa Swacka, Basic elements of Crystallography, Pan Standford Publishing Pte. Ltd., 2010

General
Actinides and the Environment, Edited by P.A. Sterne, A. Gonis and A.A. Borovoi, NATO ASI Series, Proc. of the
NATO Advanced Study Institute on Actinides and the Environment, Maleme, Crete, Greece, July 1996, Kluver
Academic Publishers,. p.pp.5961. ISBN0-7923-4968-7.
The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements, Edited by L.R. Morss, Norman M. Edelstein, Jean
Fuger, 3rd. Edition, Springer 2007 ISBN 1402035551. ISBN978-1402035555.

Periodic table (crystal structure)

External links
Strukturbericht Type A structure reports for the pure elements (http://cst-www.nrl.navy.mil/lattice/struk/
atype.html)
Crystal Structures for the solid chemical elements at 1 bar (http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/achim/
ele_structures.html)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

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Headbomb, Icairns, Khazar2, Lfh, LilHelpa, Magioladitis, Morning277, Nergaal, OlEnglish, Raistuumum, Rjwilmsi, Savantas83, StringTheory11, Suchit Verma, Swpb, Wham Bam Rock II,
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