Gallium Chemical Properties (25 Facts You Should Know)

Gallium belongs to the main group element and is not found in its pure elemental state but rather as Ga(III) . Let us see the properties of the gallium is discussed in brief.

Gallium is silvery blue in appearance. It is a soft and silvery metal at Normal Temperature and Pressure (NTP). It is used to make alloys and it is also used to as a dopant in the semiconductor devices. It is an environment-friendly alternative to mercury.

Gallium is used in the pharmaceuticals and radiopharmaceuticals. Let us discuss in this article the various chemical properties of element like melting point, boiling point and many more facts about the element.

Gallium Symbol

The symbol of the element gallium is ‘Ga’.

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Image credit: Gallium by Albedo (CC BY-SA-2.5)

Gallium group in periodic table

Gallium is present in the group 13 of the periodic table. It is also known as the boron family.

Gallium period in periodic table

Gallium belongs to the 4th period in the periodic table.

Gallium block in periodic table

Gallium belongs to the p block of the periodic table. It is the member of the boron family.

Gallium atomic number

The atomic number of gallium is 31.

Gallium atomic Weight

The atomic weight of Gallium is 69.723u.

Gallium Electronegativity according to Pauling

The electronegativity of Gallium on Linus Pauling electronegativity scale is 1.81. This scale is used to measure the tendency of an element to attract the shared pair of electrons.

Gallium atomic Density

The atomic density of gallium is 5.91 g/cm3.

Gallium melting point

The melting point of gallium is 302.914 K.

Gallium boiling point

The boiling point of Gallium 2673 K.

Gallium Vanderwaals radius

The vanderwaals radius of gallium is 187 pm.

Gallium ionic/covalent radius

The covalent radius of gallium is 122 pm.

Gallium isotopes

Isotopes are the atoms having same atomic numbers and identical chemical properties but different atomic masses and physical properties. Let us see the different isotopes of Gallium.

Isotopes Abundance Half life
66Ga syn 9.5 h
67Ga syn 3.3 d
68Ga syn 1.2 h
69Ga 60.11% stable
70Ga syn 21 min
70Ga 39.89% stable
71Ga syn 14.1 h
72Ga syn 4.9 h

Gallium electronic shell

Electronic shell is the region around the nucleus which contains the specific number of electrons. Let us see the different electronic shell of Gallium.

Gallium has K, L, M, N shell and the electron present in each shell are 2, 8,18,3.

Gallium energy of first ionisation

The energy of first ionisation is 578.8 kJ/mol. It is the energy required to remove the 1st electron from the outermost orbital of the atom.

Gallium energy of second ionisation

The energy of second ionisation is 1979.3 kJ/mol. It is the energy required to remove the electrons from the inner shell of the atom. It is of larger value because more energy is required.

Gallium energy of third ionisation

The energy of third ionisation is 2963 kJ/mol. This energy is even higher because more and more energy is required to remove the electrons from the subsequent energy levels.

Gallium oxidation states

The oxidation states of Gallium are -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2,  +3. The most stable oxidation state of gallium is +3.

Gallium electron configurations

The electronic configuration of gallium is [Ar] 3d104s24p1. It represents the number of electrons present in the different shells of the gallium atom.

 Gallium CAS number

The CAS Number of Gallium is 7440-55-3.

Gallium ChemSpider ID

 Gallium ChemSpider ID is 21542608.

Gallium allotropic forms

Allotropes are different forms in which an element can exist and it may differ in the arrangements of the atoms. Let us see the different allotropes of gallium.

 The allotropic forms of gallium are α-Ga, β-Ga, γ-Ga, and δ-Ga. α-Ga allotropes is thermodynamically most stable among the other isotopes. The other allotropes of the gallium are obtained under the special conditions.

Gallium chemical classification

The elements are classified in the periodic table according to their physical and chemical properties and their similarities with the other member of the group. Gallium belongs to the p-block and is a part of the boron family.

Gallium state at room temperature

Gallium is soft and silvery white at room temperature.

Is gallium paramagnetic?

Paramagnetic species are those which contains unpaired electrons. Gallium is diamagnetic (species having no unpaired electrons). Let us see the magnetic properties of gallium.

In solid form gallium is diamagnetic and in molten state it is paramagnetic. The magnetic properties of gallium is a function of temperature which varies with the change of state.

Conclusion

In this article various properties of the gallium element is discussed. All the information regarding the size, electronegativity, paramagnetism, vanderwaal radius are discussed above in the article. All the above data will provide the valuable information about the element.