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铊- Tl

Chemical properties of thalium-Health effects of thallium-Environmental effects of thallium

Atomic number

81

Atomic mass

204.383 g.mol-1

Electronegativity according to Pauling

1.8

Density

11.71 g.cm-3at 20°C

Melting point

304 °C

Boiling point

1473 °C

Vanderwaals radius

0.182 nm

Ionic radius

0.099 nm

Isotopes

11

Electronic shell

[ Xe ] 4f145d106s2 6p1

Energy of first ionisation

589.1 kJ.mol-1

Energy of second ionisation

1970.5 kJ.mol-1

Energy of third ionisation

2877.4 kJ.mol-1

Discovered by

Sir William Crookes in 1861

铊- Tl

当新鲜的暴露在空气中,铊展品metallic lustre, but soon develops a blueish-grey tinge, resembling lead in appearance. A heavy oxide builds up on thallium if left in air, and in the presence of water the hydroxide is formed. The metal is very soft and malleable. It can be cut with a knife.

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铊is used for making low-melting point special glass for highly reflective lenses. Thallium salts are used as reagents in chemical research. Thallium sulphate is still sold in developing countries where it is still permitted as a pesticide, although banned in Western countries. Since its electrical conductivity changes with exposure to infrared light, it is used in photocells. It is used for sink-float separation of minerals. Thallium amalgam is used in thermometers for low temperature, because it freezes at -58 °C (pure mercury freezes at -38 °C).

铊in the environment

铊is not a rare element; it is 10 times more abundant than silver. The element is widely dispersed, mainly in potassium minerals such as sylvite and pollucite. Thallium minerals are rare, but a few are known, such as crookesirte and lorandite. World production of thallium compound is around 30 tonnes per year. There has been no assessment of how great the reserves are.

铊is partially water-soluble and consequentially it can spread with groundwater when soils contain large amounts of the component. Thallium can also spread by adsorption on sludge. There are indications that thallium is fairly mobile within soils.

Health effects of thallium

The element and its compounds are toxic and should be handled carefully.

铊occurs in the environment naturally in small amounts. It is not applied very widely by humans, merely as rat poison and as a substance in electro-technical and chemical industries. These applications can cause human exposure to thallium substances.

The human body absorbs thallium very effectively, especially through the skin, the breathing organs and the digestive tract.

铊poisoning is mainly caused by accidental uptake of rat poison, which contains large amounts of thallium sulphate. Consequently, stomachaches will appear and the nervous system will be damaged. In some cases the damage is so irreversible that death will soon follow. When a human survives thallium poisoning often consequences of disturbances of the nervous system, such as trembling, paralyses and behavioural changes will remain. With unborn children thallium poisoning can cause congenital disorders.

Due to accumulation of thallium in the bodies of humans, chronic effects consist, such as tiredness, headaches, depressions, lack of appetite, leg pains, hair loss and disturbances of the sight.

Further effects that can be related to thallium poisoning are nerve pains and joint pains. These are consequences of thallium uptake through food.

Effects of thallium on the Environment

There has been no significant contamination of the environment by thallium from industry, unlike that caused by its neighbors in the periodic table, mercury and lead.

铊is very toxic to rats and is applied as a rat pesticide because of this. Thallium also has negative effects upon plants, such as colour changes in leaves and growth declines. Mammals, such as rabbits, are just as susceptible to the toxic effects of thallium as humans.

Back toperiodic table elements.


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