Sulfur (S)

Sulfur is the 16th element in the periodic table and has a symbol of S and atomic number of 16. It has an atomic weight of 32.060 and a mass number of 32. Sulfur has sixteen protons and sixteen neutrons in its nucleus, and sixteen electrons in three shells. It is located in group sixteen, period three and block p of the periodic table. Yellow, nonmetallic element belonging to group 16 of the periodic table. It is an essential element in living organisms, needed in the amino acids cysteine and methionine, and hence in many proteins. Absorbed by plants from the soil as sulphate ion.

Atomic Number	16
Atomic Weight	32.06
Mass Number	32

Group	16
Period	3
Block	p

Protons	16 p⁺
Neutrons	16 n⁰
Electrons	16 e^-

Properties

Physical Properties
Atomic Radius	100 pm 214 pm
Molar Volume	15.5 cm³/mol
Covalent Radius	103 pm 94 pm 95 pm 102 pm 105 pm
Metallic Radius	104 pm 127 pm
Ionic Radius	184 pm 37 pm 12 pm 29 pm
Crystal Radius	170 pm 51 pm 26 pm 43 pm
Van der Waals Radius	180 pm 180 pm 403 pm 180 pm 215 pm 181 pm 403.5 pm
Density	2.07 g/cm³ 1,819 kg/m³
Energy
Proton Affinity	664.3 kJ/mol
Electron Affinity	2.07710403 eV/particle
Ionization Energy	10.36001 eV/particle 23.33788 eV/particle 34.856 eV/particle 47.222 eV/particle 72.59449 eV/particle 88.05292 eV/particle 280.954 eV/particle 328.79 eV/particle 379.84 eV/particle 447.74 eV/particle 504.55 eV/particle 564.407 eV/particle 651.96 eV/particle 706.994 eV/particle 3,223.78059 eV/particle 3,494.1877 eV/particle

Heat of Vaporization	10.5 kJ/mol
Heat of Fusion	1.23 kJ/mol
Heat of Formation	277.17 kJ/mol
Electrons
Electron Shells	2, 8, 6

Valence Electrons	6

Electron Configuration	[Ne] 3s² 3p⁴

Oxidation States	-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Electronegativity	15.31 eV/particle 0.23596 2.58
Electrophilicity	2.3343529124239053 eV/particle
Phases
Phase	Solid
Gas Phase
Boiling Point	717.76 K 717.76 K
Melting Point	368.35 K 388.36 K
Critical Pressure	20.7 MPa
Critical Temperature	1,314.15 K 1,314.15 K
Triple Point
Visual
Sulfur is a Yellow. S has a CPK of #ffc832, Jmol of #ffff30, and MOLCAS GV of #fff529. The Appearance of Element 16 is lemon yellow sintered microcrystals. The Refractive Index of Sulfur (S) is 1.001111.
Color	Yellow #ffc832 #ffff30 #fff529
Appearance	lemon yellow sintered microcrystals
Refractive Index	1.001111
Thermodynamic Properties
Thermal Conductivity	0.27 W/(m K)
Thermal Expansion
Molar Heat Capacity	22.7 J/(mol K)
Specific Heat Capacity	0.708 J/(g⋅K)
Heat Capacity Ratio (Adiabatic Index)
Electrical Properties
Type	Insulator
Electrical Conductivity	0.000000000000000000001 MS/m
Electrical Resistivity	1,000,000,000,000,000 m Ω
Superconducting Point
Magnetism
Type	diamagnetic
Magnetic Susceptibility (Mass)	-0.0000000062 m³/Kg
Magnetic Susceptibility (Molar)	-0.000000000199 m³/mol
Magnetic Susceptibility (Volume)	-0.0000122
Magnetic Ordering
Curie Point
Neel Point
Structure
The Crystal Structure of Sulfur is ORC. The lattice constant of S is 10.47 Å. The lattice angles of Element 16 are π/2, π/2, π/2.
Crystal Structure	Face Centered Orthorhombic (ORC)
Lattice Constant	10.47 Å
Lattice Angles	π/2, π/2, π/2
Mechanical Properties
Sulfur has a Mohs hardness of 2 MPa. The Bulk Modulus of S is 7.7 GPa.
Hardness	2 MPa
Bulk Modulus	7.7 GPa
Shear Modulus
Young Modulus
Poisson Ratio
Speed of Sound
Classification
The CAS Group of Sulfur is VIB. The IUPAC Group of S is VIA. The Glawe Number of Element 16 is 96. The Mendeleev Number of Sulfur (S) is 100. The Pettifor Number of Sulfur is 94. The Geochemical Class of S is semi-volatile. The Goldschmidt Class of Element 16 is chalcophile.
Category	Other nonmetals, Nonmetals
CAS Group	VIB
IUPAC Group	VIA
Glawe Number	96
Mendeleev Number	100
Pettifor Number	94
Geochemical Class	semi-volatile
Goldschmidt Class	chalcophile
Other
The Gas Basicity of Sulfur is 640.2 kJ/mol. The Dipole Polarizability of S is 19.4 plus or minus 0.1 a₀. Element 16 has a C6 Dispersion Coefficient (CD) of 134 a₀, and C6 Dispersion Coefficient (GB) of 140 a₀. The Allotropes of Sulfur (S) are Rhombic Sulphur, Monoclinic Sulphur, Amorphous Sulphur. The Neutron Cross Section of Sulfur is 0.52. The Neutron Mass Absorption of S is 0.00055. The Quantum Numbers of Element 16 is 3P2. The Space Group of Sulfur (S) is 70 (Fddd).
Gas Basicity	640.2 kJ/mol
Dipole Polarizability	19.4 ± 0.1 a₀
C6 Dispersion Coefficient	134 a₀ 140 a₀
Allotropes	Rhombic Sulphur, Monoclinic Sulphur, Amorphous Sulphur
Neutron Cross Section	0.52
Neutron Mass Absorption	0.00055
Quantum Numbers	3P2
Space Group	70 (Fddd)

Isotopes of Sulfur

Stable Isotopes	4
Unstable Isotopes	20
Radioactive Isotopes	19

²⁶S

Abundance
Relative Atomic Mass	26.029716 ± 0.000644 Da
Mass Number	26
G-Factor	0
Half Life
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year
Parity	+

²⁶S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
2p (2-proton emission)	%

²⁷S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	27.018777 ± 0.00043 Da
Mass Number	27
G-Factor
Half Life	16.3 ± 0.2 ms
Spin	5/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1986
Parity	+

²⁷S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁺ (β⁺ decay; β⁺ = ϵ + e⁺)	100%
β⁺ p (β⁺-delayed proton emission)	61%
2p (2-proton emission)	3%

²⁸S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	28.004372762 ± 0.000171767 Da
Mass Number	28
G-Factor	0
Half Life	125 ± 10 ms
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1982
Parity	+

²⁸S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁺ (β⁺ decay; β⁺ = ϵ + e⁺)	100%
β⁺ p (β⁺-delayed proton emission)	20.7%

²⁹S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	28.996678 ± 0.000014 Da
Mass Number	29
G-Factor
Half Life	188 ± 4 ms
Spin	5/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1964
Parity	+

²⁹S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁺ (β⁺ decay; β⁺ = ϵ + e⁺)	100%
β⁺ p (β⁺-delayed proton emission)	46.4%

³⁰S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	29.98490677 ± 0.000000221 Da
Mass Number	30
G-Factor	0
Half Life	1.1798 ± 0.0003 s
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1961
Parity	+

³⁰S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁺ (β⁺ decay; β⁺ = ϵ + e⁺)	100%

³¹S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	30.979557002 ± 0.000000246 Da
Mass Number	31
G-Factor	0.97586 ± 0.00016
Half Life	2.5534 ± 0.0018 s
Spin	1/2
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1940
Parity	+

³¹S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁺ (β⁺ decay; β⁺ = ϵ + e⁺)	100%

³²S

Abundance	94.85 ± 2.55
Relative Atomic Mass	31.97207117354 ± 0.00000000141 Da
Mass Number	32
G-Factor	0
Half Life
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1920
Parity	+

³³S

Abundance	0.763 ± 0.02
Relative Atomic Mass	32.97145890862 ± 0.00000000144 Da
Mass Number	33
G-Factor	0.42883333333333 ± 0.000013333333333333
Half Life
Spin	3/2
Quadrupole Moment	-0.694 ± 0.004
Discovery Year	1926
Parity	+

³⁴S

Abundance	4.365 ± 0.235
Relative Atomic Mass	33.967867011 ± 0.000000047 Da
Mass Number	34
G-Factor	0
Half Life
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1926
Parity	+

³⁵S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	34.969032321 ± 0.000000043 Da
Mass Number	35
G-Factor	0.66666666666667 ± 0.026666666666667
Half Life	87.37 ± 0.04 d
Spin	3/2
Quadrupole Moment	-0.483 ± 0.003
Discovery Year	1936
Parity	+

³⁵S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%

³⁶S

Abundance	0.0158 ± 0.0017
Relative Atomic Mass	35.967080692 ± 0.000000201 Da
Mass Number	36
G-Factor	0
Half Life
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1938
Parity	+

³⁷S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	36.9711255 ± 0.000000212 Da
Mass Number	37
G-Factor
Half Life	5.05 ± 0.02 m
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1945
Parity	-

³⁷S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%

³⁸S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	37.9711633 ± 0.000007699 Da
Mass Number	38
G-Factor	0
Half Life	170.3 ± 0.7 m
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1958
Parity	+

³⁸S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%

³⁹S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	38.97513385 ± 0.000053677 Da
Mass Number	39
G-Factor
Half Life	11.5 ± 0.5 s
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1971
Parity

³⁹S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%

⁴⁰S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	39.975482561 ± 0.000004274 Da
Mass Number	40
G-Factor	0
Half Life	8.8 ± 2.2 s
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1971
Parity	+

⁴⁰S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%

⁴¹S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	40.979593451 ± 0.0000044 Da
Mass Number	41
G-Factor
Half Life	1.99 ± 0.05 s
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1979
Parity	-

⁴¹S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	%

⁴²S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	41.9810651 ± 0.000003 Da
Mass Number	42
G-Factor	0
Half Life	1.016 ± 0.015 s
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1979
Parity	+

⁴²S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	1%

⁴³S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	42.986907635 ± 0.000005335 Da
Mass Number	43
G-Factor
Half Life	265 ± 13 ms
Spin	3/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1979
Parity	-

⁴³S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	40%

⁴⁴S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	43.990118846 ± 0.0000056 Da
Mass Number	44
G-Factor	0
Half Life	100 ± 1 ms
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1979
Parity	+

⁴⁴S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	18%

⁴⁵S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	44.996414 ± 0.000322 Da
Mass Number	45
G-Factor
Half Life	68 ± 2 ms
Spin	3/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1989
Parity	-

⁴⁵S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	54%
2n (2-neutron emission)	%

⁴⁶S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	46.000687 ± 0.000429 Da
Mass Number	46
G-Factor	0
Half Life	50 ± 8 ms
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1989
Parity	+

⁴⁶S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	%
2n (2-neutron emission)	%

⁴⁷S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	47.00773 ± 0.000429 Da
Mass Number	47
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	3/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1989
Parity	-

⁴⁷S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	%
2n (2-neutron emission)	%

⁴⁸S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	48.013301 ± 0.000537 Da
Mass Number	48
G-Factor	0
Half Life
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1990
Parity	+

⁴⁸S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	%
2n (2-neutron emission)	%

⁴⁹S

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	49.021891 ± 0.000626 Da
Mass Number	49
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	1/2
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	2018
Parity	-

⁴⁹S Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	%
2n (2-neutron emission)	%

History

By the 3rd century, the Chinese discovered that sulfur could be extracted from pyrite. Indian alchemists wrote extensively about the use of sulfur in alchemical operations with mercury, from the eighth century AD onwards. In 1777, Antoine Lavoisier helped convince the scientific community that sulfur was an element, not a compound. Known to the ancients; referred to in Genesis as brimstone

Discoverers	Known to the ancients.
Discovery Location
Discovery Year
Etymology (Name Origin)	Latin: sulphur (brimstone).
Pronunciation	SUL-fer (English)

Elemental sulfur is considered to be of low toxicity

Penicillin is a natural, sulfur-based antibiotic

Uses

Sulfur's main commercial use is as a reactant in the production of sulfuric acid. Sulfur is a component of black gunpowder, and is used in the vulcanization of natural rubber and a fungicide. It is used to make sulfite paper and other papers, to fumigate fumigant, and to bleach dried fruits. It is also used extensively in making phosphatic fertilizers. Used in matches, gunpowder, medicines, rubber and pesticides, dyes and insecticides. Also for making sulfuric acid (H2SO4).

Sources

Found in pure form and in ores like cinnabar, galena, sphalerite and stibnite. Pure form is obtained from undergound deposits by the Frasch process.

Abundance
Abundance in Earth's crust	350 mg/kg
Abundance in Oceans	905 mg/L
Abundance in Human Body	0.2 %
Abundance in Meteor	4 %
Abundance in Sun	0.04 %
Abundance in Universe	0.05 %

Nuclear Screening Constants

1	s	0.4591
2	p	4.023
2	s	5.3712
3	p	10.5181
3	s	9.6331

Sulfur on ChemicalAid

Australian Educational Vocabulary ID	scot/3579
BNCF Thesaurus ID	16105
Biblioteca Nacional de España ID	XX534797
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID	11947003d
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID	schwefel
CAS Registry Number	7704-34-9
Canadian Encyclopedia article ID	sulphur
ChEBI ID	33403
CosIng number	75467
DSSTOX compound identifier	DTXCID7014941
DSSTox substance ID	DTXSID9034941
Den Store Danske ID	svovl
Dizionario di Medicina ID	zolfo
ECHA Substance Infocard ID	100.028.839
Encyclopedia of China ID (Second Edition)	218057
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID	science/sulfur
Encyclopædia Universalis ID	soufre
EuroVoc ID	4218
Freebase ID	/m/025sf9q
French Vikidia ID	Soufre
GND ID	4180380-2
Golden ID	Sulfur-R9VY8
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID	0143151
Great Aragonese Encyclopedia ID	1720
Great Russian Encyclopedia Online ID	3657023
HSDB ID	5166
ICSC ID	1166
InChI	InChI=1S/S
InChIKey	NINIDFKCEFEMDL-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Italian Vikidia ID	Zolfo
KBpedia ID	Sulfur
KEGG ID	C00087
Krugosvet article	nauka_i_tehnika/himiya/SERA.html
LEM ID	LEM201001202
Latvian National Encyclopedia Online ID	126673
Library of Congress authority ID	sh85130365
MeSH descriptor ID	D013455
Mindat mineral ID	36807
NALT ID	55168
NDL Authority ID	00564201
NE.se ID	sulfur
NE.se ID	svavel
NKCR AUT ID	ph116380
NSC number	403664
Namuwiki ID	황(원소)
National Library of Israel J9U ID	987007548506005171
National Library of Latvia ID	000182402
OmegaWiki Defined Meaning	3668
OpenAlex ID	C518881349
PSH ID	5807
Probes And Drugs ID	PD071852
PubChem CID	5362487
Quora topic ID	Sulphur
STW Thesaurus for Economics ID	14627-0
Spanish Cultural Heritage thesauri ID	materias/1013784
Spanish Vikidia ID	Azufre
Store medisinske leksikon ID	svovel
Store medisinske leksikon ID	svovel_-_medisin
Store norske leksikon ID	svovel
Treccani ID	zolfo
U.S. National Archives Identifier	10645875
UK Parliament thesaurus ID	13113
UNESCO Thesaurus ID	concept3497
USGS Thesaurus ID	1582
Wolfram Language entity code	Entity["Mineral", "Sulfur"]
WordNet 3.1 Synset ID	14680398-n
WordNet 3.1 Synset ID	14809484-n
YSO ID	12305
ZVG number	8130

Sulfur (S)

Properties

Isotopes of Sulfur

26S

26S Decay Modes

27S

27S Decay Modes

28S

28S Decay Modes

29S

29S Decay Modes

30S

30S Decay Modes

31S

31S Decay Modes

32S

33S

34S

35S

35S Decay Modes

36S

37S

37S Decay Modes

38S

38S Decay Modes

39S

39S Decay Modes

40S

40S Decay Modes

41S

41S Decay Modes

42S

42S Decay Modes

43S

43S Decay Modes

44S

44S Decay Modes

45S

45S Decay Modes

46S

46S Decay Modes

47S

47S Decay Modes

48S

48S Decay Modes

49S

49S Decay Modes