Fe Iron – Element Information, Facts, Properties, Trends,Uses, Comparison with other elements

Iron History

The element Iron was discovered by unknown in year 2000 BC in unknown place . Iron derived its name from English word (ferrum in Latin)

Iron Presence: Abundance in Nature and Around Us

The table below shows the abundance of Iron in Universe, Sun, Meteorites, Earth's Crust, Oceans and Human Body.

Crystal Structure of Iron

The solid state structure of Iron is Body Centered Cubic.

The Crystal structure can be described in terms of its unit Cell. The unit Cells repeats itself in three dimensional space to form the structure.

Unit Cell Parameters

The unit cell is represented in terms of its lattice parameters, which are the lengths of the cell edges Lattice Constants (a, b and c)

and the angles between them Lattice Angles (alpha, beta and gamma).

The positions of the atoms inside the unit cell are described by the set of atomic positions ( x_i, y_i, z_i) measured from a reference lattice point.

The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space are described by the 230 space groups (219 distinct types, or 230 if chiral copies are considered distinct.

Space Group Name	Im_ 3m
Space Group Number	229
Crystal Structure	Body Centered Cubic

Iron Atomic and Orbital Properties

Iron atoms have 26 electrons and the electronic shell structure is [2, 8, 14, 2] with Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers) ⁵D₄.

Atomic Number	26
Number of Electrons (with no charge)	26
Number of Protons	26
Mass Number	56
Number of Neutrons	30
Shell structure (Electrons per energy level)	[2, 8, 14, 2]
Electron Configuration	[Ar] 3d6 4s2
Valence Electrons	3d6 4s2
Oxidation State	-4;-2;-1 1;2;3;4;5;6;7
Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers)	5D4

Shell Structure of Iron - Electrons per energy level

n		s	p	d	f
1	K	2
2	L	2	6
3	M	2	6	6
4	N	2

Ground State Electronic Configuration of Iron - neutral Iron atom

The ground state electronic configuration of Neutral Iron atom is [Ar] 3d6 4s2. The portion of Iron configuration that is equivalent to the noble gas of the preceding period, is abbreviated as [Ar]. For atoms with many electrons, this notation can become lengthy and so an abbreviated notation is used.This is important as it is the Valence electrons 3d6 4s2, electrons in the outermost shell that determine the chemical properties of the element.

Unabbreviated electronic configuration of neutral Iron

Complete ground state electronic configuration for the Iron atom, Unabbreviated electronic configuration

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d6 4s2

Atomic Structure of Iron

Iron atomic radius is 156 pm, while it's covalent radius is 125 pm.

Atomic Spectrum of Iron

Iron Chemical Properties: Iron Ionization Energies and electron affinity

The electron affinity of Iron is 15.7 kJ/mol

Ionization Energy of Iron

Refer to table below for Ionization energies of Iron

Iron Physical Properties

Refer to below table for Iron Physical Properties

Elastic Properties

Hardness of Iron - Tests to Measure of Hardness of Element

Iron Electrical Properties

Iron is Conductor of electricity. Refer to table below for the Electrical properties of Iron

Iron Heat and Conduction Properties

Iron Magnetic Properties

Optical Properties of Iron

Acoustic Properties of Iron

Iron Thermal Properties - Enthalpies and thermodynamics

Refer to table below for Thermal properties of Iron

Enthalpies of Iron

Iron Isotopes - Nuclear Properties of Iron

Isotopes of rhodium. Naturally occurring Iron has 4 stable isotope - 54Fe, 56Fe, 57Fe, 58Fe.

Regulatory and Health - Health and Safety Parameters and Guidelines

Database Search

List of unique identifiers to search the element in various chemical registry databases