Astatine

Astatine
Astatine block | Image: Learnool

Astatine (At) is a chemical element of the periodic table, located in the group 17 and the period 6, and is having the atomic number 85. It is a dark, black, lustrous post transition metal, whose name comes from the Greek word “astatos”, which means unstable. It is highly toxic and is counted as one of the radioactive elements. It is the rarest element on earth and is counted as one of the heaviest elements in the halogen group.

On periodic table

group 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
period
1 1
H
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Hydrogen
2
He
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Helium
2 3
Li
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Lithium
4
Be
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Beryllium
5
B
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Boron
6
C
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Carbon
7
N
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Nitrogen
8
O
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Oxygen
9
F
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Fluorine
10
Ne
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Neon
3 11
Na
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Sodium
12
Mg
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Magnesium
13
Al
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Aluminium
14
Si
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Silicon
15
P
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Phosphorus
16
S
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Sulfur
17
Cl
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Chlorine
18
Ar
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Argon
4 19
K
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Potassium
20
Ca
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Calcium
21
Sc
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Scandium
22
Ti
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Titanium
23
V
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Vanadium
24
Cr
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Chromium
25
Mn
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Manganese
26
Fe
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Iron
27
Co
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Cobalt
28
Ni
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Nickel
29
Cu
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Copper
30
Zn
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Zinc
31
Ga
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Gallium
32
Ge
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Germanium
33
As
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Arsenic
34
Se
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Selenium
35
Br
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Bromine
36
Kr
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Krypton
5 37
Rb
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Rubidium
38
Sr
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Strontium
39
Y
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Yttrium
40
Zr
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Zirconium
41
Nb
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Niobium
42
Mo
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Molybdenum
43
Tc
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Technetium
44
Ru
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Ruthenium
45
Rh
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Rhodium
46
Pd
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Palladium
47
Ag
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Silver
48
Cd
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Cadmium
49
In
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Indium
50
Sn
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Tin
51
Sb
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Antimony
52
Te
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Tellurium
53
I
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Iodine
54
Xe
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Xenon
6 55
Cs
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Caesium
56
Ba
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Barium
72
Hf
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Hafnium
73
Ta
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Tantalum
74
W
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Tungsten
75
Re
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Rhenium
76
Os
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Osmium
77
Ir
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Iridium
78
Pt
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Platinum
79
Au
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Gold
80
Hg
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Mercury
81
Tl
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Thallium
82
Pb
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Lead
83
Bi
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Bismuth
84
Po
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Polonium
85
At
Astatine
86
Rn
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Radon
7 87
Fr
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Francium
88
Ra
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Radium
104
Rf
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Rutherfordium
105
Db
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Dubnium
106
Sg
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Seaborgium
107
Bh
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Bohrium
108
Hs
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Hassium
109
Mt
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Meitnerium
110
Ds
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Darmstadtium
111
Rg
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Roentgenium
112
Cn
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Copernicium
113
Nh
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Nihonium
114
Fl
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Flerovium
115
Mc
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Moscovium
116
Lv
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Livermorium
117
Ts
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Tennessine
118
Og
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Oganesson
57
La
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Lanthanum
58
Ce
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Cerium
59
Pr
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Praseodymium
60
Nd
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Neodymium
61
Pm
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Promethium
62
Sm
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Samarium
63
Eu
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Europium
64
Gd
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Gadolinium
65
Tb
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Terbium
66
Dy
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Dysprosium
67
Ho
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Holmium
68
Er
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Erbium
69
Tm
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Thulium
70
Yb
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Ytterbium
71
Lu
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Lutetium
89
Ac
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Actinium
90
Th
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Thorium
91
Pa
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Protactinium
92
U
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Uranium
93
Np
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Neptunium
94
Pu
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Plutonium
95
Am
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Americium
96
Cm
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Curium
97
Bk
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Berkelium
98
Cf
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Californium
99
Es
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Einsteinium
100
Fm
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Fermium
101
Md
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Mendelevium
102
No
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Nobelium
103
Lr
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Lawrencium
– p block

Astatine is a p-block element, found in the seventeenth column (halogen group) of the periodic table, next to polonium (Po), and is denoted by the atomic number 85 and chemical symbol At.

Element information

Astatine Periodic Table
Astatine location on periodic table | Image: Learnool
Astatine is found in the sixth row of the periodic table below the iodine element.
Origin of name Greek word “astatos” (which means unstable)
Symbol At
Atomic number (Z) 85
Atomic mass (210)
Block p-block
Group 17 (halogen)
Period 6
Classification Post-transition metal
Electron configuration [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p5
Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 7
Learn how to draw: Astatine Bohr model
Phase at r.t Solid (predicted)
Density near r.t 8.91-8.95 g/cm3 (estimated)
Natural occurrence From decay
Oxidation state -1, +1
Protons
Neutrons
Electrons
85
125
85
Valence electrons 7
Learn how to find: Astatine valence electrons
CAS number 7440-68-8
Discovered by Dale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, and Emilio Segrè in 1940

History

Astatine is a highly radioactive element that was first discovered in 1940 by Dale Corson, K.R. MacKenzie, and Emilio Segrè at the University of California, Berkeley. Astatine was the last naturally occurring element to be discovered, as it is very rare and occurs only in minute quantities in nature. Its name derives from the Greek word “astatos,” meaning unstable.

Prior to its discovery, astatine was predicted to exist based on the periodic table, which suggested that an element should exist between iodine and xenon. The prediction was made by the chemist Fred Allison in 1931, but it was not until 1940 that the first sample of astatine was produced. The researchers produced astatine by bombarding bismuth with alpha particles in a cyclotron, which caused a nuclear reaction that resulted in the formation of astatine.

Since its discovery, astatine has been produced in very small quantities in laboratories by bombarding heavy elements with energetic particles. Its extreme rarity and radioactivity make it difficult to study, so much of what is known about astatine comes from theoretical predictions based on its position in the periodic table.

Occurrence and production

Astatine is a rare element that occurs naturally in trace amounts in uranium and thorium ores. It is produced artificially by bombarding bismuth-209 with alpha particles. The first synthesis of astatine was in 1940 by Dale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, and Emilio G. Segrè at the University of California, Berkeley. They produced astatine-211 by bombarding bismuth-209 with alpha particles. Since then, astatine has been produced by several other methods, including bombarding bismuth-209 with heavy ions, such as neon or helium, and by irradiating thorium or uranium with protons or alpha particles. Astatine is extremely rare, with only a few milligrams thought to exist on Earth at any given time. As a result of its rarity, astatine is primarily used for research purposes in the field of nuclear medicine.

Properties

Astatine is a highly radioactive element and the heaviest halogen.

It exists in several isotopes, but the most stable one has a half-life of only 8.1 hours.

Astatine is a rare element and is one of the least abundant elements on Earth.

It is solid at room temperature and appears to be black or dark gray in color.

Astatine is highly reactive and can form compounds with hydrogen, oxygen, and other elements.

It is a strong oxidizing agent and can react with metals, nonmetals, and metalloids.

Astatine has a high electron affinity and electronegativity, making it a good halogen and a potential candidate for certain medical applications.

Applications

Due to its radioactivity and short half-life, astatine has no practical applications outside of scientific research.

It has been used in studies related to cancer treatment and diagnosis, particularly in the development of targeted alpha particle therapy, which uses alpha particles emitted by radioactive isotopes to specifically target cancer cells.

Astatine has also been used in studies related to the synthesis of heavy elements and the prediction of their properties, as well as in studies of chemical bonding and the structure of molecules.

Astatine’s scarcity and high cost make it difficult to obtain and work with, limiting its potential applications.

Interesting facts

Astatine is one of the rarest naturally occurring elements, with less than one gram of it estimated to exist at any given time on Earth.

Due to its rarity, there are no known commercial applications for astatine.

Astatine is the heaviest of the halogen group of elements, which includes fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine.

Astatine has a very short half-life, with its isotopes decaying quickly into other elements through alpha or beta decay.

Astatine has been used in small amounts in scientific research to study its behavior and properties, as well as in medical applications such as targeted radiation therapy for cancer treatment.

Related

More elements

s block
p block
d block
f block
Barium Aluminium Bohrium Actinium
Beryllium Antimony Cadmium Americium
Caesium Argon Chromium Berkelium
Calcium Arsenic Cobalt Californium
Francium Astatine Copernicium Cerium
Helium Bismuth Copper Curium
Hydrogen Boron Darmstadtium Dysprosium
Lithium Bromine Dubnium Einsteinium
Magnesium Carbon Gold Erbium
Potassium Chlorine Hafnium Europium
Radium Flerovium Hassium Fermium
Rubidium Fluorine Iridium Gadolinium
Sodium Gallium Iron Holmium
Strontium Germanium Lawrencium Lanthanum
Indium Lutetium Mendelevium
Iodine Manganese Neodymium
Krypton Meitnerium Neptunium
Lead Mercury Nobelium
Livermorium Molybdenum Plutonium
Moscovium Nickel Praseodymium
Neon Niobium Promethium
Nihonium Osmium Protactinium
Nitrogen Palladium Samarium
Oganesson Platinum Terbium
Oxygen Rhenium Thorium
Phosphorus Rhodium Thulium
Polonium Roentgenium Uranium
Radon Ruthenium Ytterbium
Selenium Rutherfordium
Silicon Scandium
Sulfur Seaborgium
Tellurium Silver
Tennessine Tantalum
Thallium Technetium
Tin Titanium
Xenon Tungsten
Vanadium
Yttrium
Zinc
Zirconium

External links

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Learnool.com was founded by Deep Rana, who is a mechanical engineer by profession and a blogger by passion. He has a good conceptual knowledge on different educational topics and he provides the same on this website. He loves to learn something new everyday and believes that the best utilization of free time is developing a new skill.

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