Periodic Table

Thallium

Post Transition Metal

Quick Facts about Thallium

Hg
  • solid- state of matter at room temperature
  • Stable- has at least one stable isotope
  • +3, +1- common oxidation states in compounds
  • HEX- crystal structure, atomic arrangement in solid form
Pb

Thallium (Tl) is element 81 on the periodic table. Atomic mass of Tl: 204.3800 u. Tl is in period 6, group 13. Melting point of Tl: 577.00 K.Density of Tl: 11.85 g/cm³.

Why Thallium Matters

The poisoner's poison—now used to image hearts

Industry Uses

MedicalTl-201 heart imaging (myocardial perfusion scans) detects coronary artery disease
ElectronicsThallium bromide-iodide crystals detect infrared radiation
MaterialsHigh-temperature superconductors contain thallium compounds
OpticsSpecialized infrared-transmitting optical components

In Your Body

✗ Not essential

Thallium mimics potassium and enters cells easily

Safety: Thallium is extremely toxic—more toxic than lead or mercury. Called 'poisoner's poison' because it's tasteless, odorless, and symptoms are delayed. Hair loss is a characteristic sign of thallium poisoning.

Discovery of Thallium

Discovered by Sir William Crookes in England, 1861

Name origin: Greek: thallos (green twig), for a bright green line in its spectrum.

History & Events

1861
Named from Greek 'thallos' meaning green shoot, for its green spectral line
1861
Discovered in 1861 by William Crookes using spectroscopy
1861
Used in many poisoning cases due to difficult detection
1972
Rodent poison use was banned in the US in 1972

About Thallium

Pure, unreacted thallium appears silvery-white and exhibits a metallic lustre. Upon reacting with air, it begins to turn bluish-grey and looks like lead. It is very malleable, and can be cut with a knife. There are two stable isotopes, and four radioisotopes, Tl-204 being the most stable with a half-life of 3.78 years. Thallium sulphate was used as a rodenticide. Thallium sulphine's conductivity changes with exposure to infrared light, this gives it a use in infrared detectors. Discovered by Sir William Crookes via spectroscopy. Its name comes from the Greek word thallos, which means green twig. Thallium and its compounds are toxic and can cause cancer.

Atomic Properties of Tl

Atomic Number of Tl
81
Atomic Mass of Tl
204.3800 u
Electron Configuration
[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p1
Electronegativity
1.62
Block
p-block
Group
13
Period
6

Physical Properties of Tl

Phase (STP)
solid
Melting Point of Tl
577.00 K
Boiling Point of Tl
1746.00 K
Density of Tl
11.8500 g/cm3

Thermal Properties

Heat of Fusion
4.31 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization
162.40 kJ/mol
Specific Heat
0.13 J/g·K
Molar Heat Capacity
26.32 J/mol·K
Thermal Conductivity
46.10 W/m·K

Atomic Radii

Calculated
190 pm
Covalent
144 pm
Van der Waals
196 pm
Metallic
144 pm

Common Misconceptions

Wrong:Thallium poisoning is immediately obvious.
Correct:Symptoms appear gradually over days to weeks—nausea, confusion, then characteristic hair loss. This delayed onset made it a favored murder weapon before forensic detection improved.
Wrong:Prussian blue (the thallium antidote) is just artist's pigment.
Correct:Medical-grade Prussian blue (ferric hexacyanoferrate) traps thallium ions in the gut, preventing reabsorption. It's the same compound as the pigment but pharmaceutical-grade and FDA-approved.
Wrong:Thallium is only known as a poison.
Correct:Tl-201 cardiac imaging was the gold standard for detecting heart disease for decades. Thallium compounds are also used in infrared detectors and high-temperature superconductors.

Isotopes of Thallium

Thallium has 2 naturally occurring isotopes, plus 1 notable radioactive isotope.

IsotopeAtomic Mass (u)AbundanceHalf-LifeDecay Mode
20181Tl (Tl-201)Thallium-201 isotope200.970820%3.0421 daysEC
20381Tl (Tl-203)Thallium-203 isotope202.972344629.52%
20581Tl (Tl-205)Thallium-205 isotope204.974427870.48%

Data source: NIH PubChem (aggregated from IUPAC, NIST)

Isotope Applications

Isotopes of Thallium have important real-world applications in science and industry.

Medical Applications

201Tl scintigraphy is used to detect coronary artery disease [539]. Imaging of 201Tl (with a half-life of 3 days), can be used for exercise perfusion tests of the myocardium (muscular tissue of the heart), which determine damage to the heart caused by a heart attack or by heart disease (Fig. IUPAC.81.2) [539].

Abundance

Earth's Crust
850.00 μg/kg
Seawater
1.90×10-5 mg/L

Uses

Its compounds are used in rat and ant poisons. Also for detecting infrared radiation.

Sources

Found in iron pyrites. Also in crookesite, hutchinsonite and lorandite. Most is recovered from the byproducts of lead and zinc refining.

Geochemistry

Goldschmidt
chalcophile

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