Scandium (Sc)

Rare soft silvery metallic element belonging to group 3 of the periodic table. There are ten isotopes, nine of which are radioactive and have short half-lives. Predicted in 1869 by Mendeleev, isolated by Nilson in 1879.

Atomic Number	21
Atomic Weight	44.955908
Mass Number	45

Group	3
Period	4
Block	d

Protons	21 p⁺
Neutrons	24 n⁰
Electrons	21 e^-

Properties

Energy
Atomic Radius	160 pm 263 pm
Molar Volume	15 cm³/mol
Covalent Radius	148 pm 116 pm 114 pm 170 pm
Metallic Radius	144 pm 162 pm
Ionic Radius	74.5 pm 87 pm
Crystal Radius	88.5 pm 101 pm
Van der Waals Radius	230 pm 215 pm 261 pm 329.5 pm
Density	2.99 g/cm³ 2,800 kg/m³
Proton Affinity	914 kJ/mol
Electron Affinity	0.188 eV/particle
Ionization Energy	6.56149 eV/particle 12.79977 eV/particle 24.756838 eV/particle 73.4894 eV/particle 91.949 eV/particle 110.68 eV/particle 138 eV/particle 158.1 eV/particle 180 eV/particle 225.18 eV/particle 249.798 eV/particle 687.36 eV/particle 757.7 eV/particle 833 eV/particle 926.48 eV/particle 1,008.62 eV/particle 1,093.48 eV/particle 1,213.1 eV/particle 1,287.956 eV/particle 5,674.9034 eV/particle 6,033.754 eV/particle
Heat of Vaporization	332.7 kJ/mol
Heat of Fusion	15.8 kJ/mol
Heat of Formation	377.8 kJ/mol
Electrons
Electron Shells	2, 8, 9, 2
Valence Electrons	3
Electron Configuration	[Ar] 3d¹ 4s²
Oxidation States	0, 1, 2, 3
Electronegativity	7.042 eV/particle 0.1193833 1.36
Electrophilicity	0.8934589851890408 eV/particle
Phases
Phase	Solid
Gas Phase
Boiling Point	3,109.15 K
Melting Point	1,814.15 K
Critical Pressure
Critical Temperature
Triple Point
Visual
Color	Silver #ff1493 #e6e6e6 #e6e6e6
Appearance	silvery white
Refractive Index
Thermodynamic Properties
Thermal Conductivity	15.8 W/(m K)
Thermal Expansion	0.0000102 1/K
Molar Heat Capacity	25.52 J/(mol K)
Specific Heat Capacity	0.568 J/(g⋅K)
Heat Capacity Ratio (Adiabatic Index)
Electrical Properties
Type	Conductor
Electrical Conductivity	1.8 MS/m
Electrical Resistivity	0.00000055 m Ω
Superconducting Point	0.05 K
Magnetism
Type	paramagnetic
Magnetic Susceptibility (Mass)	0.000000088 m³/Kg
Magnetic Susceptibility (Molar)	0.000000003956 m³/mol
Magnetic Susceptibility (Volume)	0.0002627
Magnetic Ordering
Curie Point
Neel Point
Structure
Crystal Structure	Simple Hexagonal (HEX)
Lattice Constant	3.31 Å
Lattice Angles	π/2, π/2, 2 π/3
Mechanical Properties
Hardness	750 MPa
Bulk Modulus	57 GPa
Shear Modulus	29 GPa
Young Modulus	74 GPa
Poisson Ratio	0.28
Speed of Sound
Classification
Category	Transition metals, Transition metals
CAS Group	IIIA
IUPAC Group	IIIB
Glawe Number	48
Mendeleev Number	11
Pettifor Number	20
Geochemical Class	first series transition metal
Goldschmidt Class	litophile
Other
Gas Basicity	892 kJ/mol
Dipole Polarizability	97 ± 10 a₀
C6 Dispersion Coefficient	1,383 a₀ 1,570 a₀
Allotropes
Neutron Cross Section	27.2
Neutron Mass Absorption	0.025
Quantum Numbers	2D3/2
Space Group	194 (P63/mmc)

Isotopes of Scandium

Stable Isotopes	1
Unstable Isotopes	28
Radioactive Isotopes	23

³⁵Sc

Abundance
Relative Atomic Mass	35.029093 ± 0.000429 Da
Mass Number	35
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year
Parity	-

³⁵Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
p (proton emission)	%

³⁶Sc

Abundance
Relative Atomic Mass	36.017338 ± 0.000322 Da
Mass Number	36
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year
Parity

³⁶Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
p (proton emission)	%

³⁷Sc

Abundance
Relative Atomic Mass	37.004058 ± 0.000322 Da
Mass Number	37
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year
Parity	-

³⁷Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
p (proton emission)	%

³⁸Sc

Abundance
Relative Atomic Mass	37.995438 ± 0.000215 Da
Mass Number	38
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year
Parity	-

³⁸Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
p (proton emission)	%

³⁹Sc

Abundance
Relative Atomic Mass	38.984784953 ± 0.000025765 Da
Mass Number	39
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1988
Parity	-

³⁹Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
p (proton emission)	100%

⁴⁰Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	39.977967275 ± 0.000003036 Da
Mass Number	40
G-Factor
Half Life	182.3 ± 0.7 ms
Spin	4
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1955
Parity	-

⁴⁰Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁺ (β⁺ decay; β⁺ = ϵ + e⁺)	100%
β⁺ p (β⁺-delayed proton emission)	0.44%
β⁺α (β⁺-delayed α emission)	0.017%

⁴¹Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	40.969251163 ± 0.000000083 Da
Mass Number	41
G-Factor	1.5509428571429 ± 0.0004
Half Life	596.3 ± 1.7 ms
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment	-0.145 ± 0.003
Discovery Year	1941
Parity	-

⁴¹Sc Decay Modes

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

⁴²Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	41.965516686 ± 0.000000165 Da
Mass Number	42
G-Factor	0
Half Life	680.72 ± 0.26 ms
Spin	0
Quadrupole Moment	0
Discovery Year	1955
Parity	+

⁴²Sc Decay Modes

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

⁴³Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	42.961150425 ± 0.000001999 Da
Mass Number	43
G-Factor	1.2931428571429 ± 0.0028571428571429
Half Life	3.891 ± 0.012 h
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment	-0.27 ± 0.05
Discovery Year	1935
Parity	-

⁴³Sc Decay Modes

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

⁴⁴Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	43.959402818 ± 0.000001884 Da
Mass Number	44
G-Factor	1.249 ± 0.0025
Half Life	4.0421 ± 0.0025 h
Spin	2
Quadrupole Moment	0.1 ± 0.05
Discovery Year	1937
Parity	+

⁴⁴Sc Decay Modes

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

⁴⁵Sc

Abundance	100
Relative Atomic Mass	44.955907051 ± 0.000000712 Da
Mass Number	45
G-Factor	1.3582857142857 ± 0.000022857142857143
Half Life
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment	-0.22 ± 0.002
Discovery Year	1923
Parity	-

⁴⁶Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	45.955167034 ± 0.00000072 Da
Mass Number	46
G-Factor	0.76 ± 0.002
Half Life	83.757 ± 0.014 d
Spin	4
Quadrupole Moment	0.119 ± 0.006
Discovery Year	1936
Parity	+

⁴⁶Sc Decay Modes

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

⁴⁷Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	46.952402444 ± 0.000002072 Da
Mass Number	47
G-Factor	1.5257142857143 ± 0.0057142857142857
Half Life	3.3492 ± 0.0006 d
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment	-0.22 ± 0.03
Discovery Year	1945
Parity	-

⁴⁷Sc Decay Modes

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

⁴⁸Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	47.952222903 ± 0.000005313 Da
Mass Number	48
G-Factor	0.62283333333333 ± 0.002
Half Life	43.67 ± 0.09 h
Spin	6
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1937
Parity	+

⁴⁸Sc Decay Modes

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

⁴⁹Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	48.950013159 ± 0.000002434 Da
Mass Number	49
G-Factor	1.6028571428571 ± 0.0085714285714286
Half Life	57.18 ± 0.13 m
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1940
Parity	-

⁴⁹Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵⁰Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	49.952187437 ± 0.0000027 Da
Mass Number	50
G-Factor
Half Life	102.5 ± 0.5 s
Spin	5
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1959
Parity	+

⁵⁰Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵¹Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	50.953568838 ± 0.0000027 Da
Mass Number	51
G-Factor
Half Life	12.4 ± 0.1 s
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1966
Parity

⁵¹Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵²Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	51.95649617 ± 0.0000033 Da
Mass Number	52
G-Factor
Half Life	8.2 ± 0.2 s
Spin	3
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1980
Parity

⁵²Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵³Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	52.958379173 ± 0.000019 Da
Mass Number	53
G-Factor
Half Life	2.4 ± 0.6 s
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1980
Parity	-

⁵³Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵⁴Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	53.963029359 ± 0.000015 Da
Mass Number	54
G-Factor
Half Life	526 ± 15 ms
Spin	3
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1990
Parity

⁵⁴Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	16%

⁵⁵Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	54.966889637 ± 0.000067 Da
Mass Number	55
G-Factor
Half Life	96 ± 2 ms
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1990
Parity

⁵⁵Sc Decay Modes

Decay Mode	Intensity
β⁻ (β⁻ decay)	100%
β⁻ n (β⁻-delayed neutron emission)	17%
2n (2-neutron emission)	%

⁵⁶Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	55.972607611 ± 0.000278761 Da
Mass Number	56
G-Factor
Half Life	26 ± 6 ms
Spin	1
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1997
Parity	+

⁵⁶Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵⁷Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	56.977048 ± 0.000193 Da
Mass Number	57
G-Factor
Half Life	22 ± 2 ms
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1997
Parity	-

⁵⁷Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵⁸Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	57.983382 ± 0.000204 Da
Mass Number	58
G-Factor
Half Life	12 ± 5 ms
Spin	3
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	1997
Parity	+

⁵⁸Sc Decay Modes

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

⁵⁹Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	58.988374 ± 0.000268 Da
Mass Number	59
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	2009
Parity	-

⁵⁹Sc Decay Modes

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

⁶⁰Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	59.995115 ± 0.000537 Da
Mass Number	60
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	3
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	2009
Parity	+

⁶⁰Sc Decay Modes

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

⁶¹Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	61.000537 ± 0.000644 Da
Mass Number	61
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	2009
Parity	-

⁶¹Sc Decay Modes

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

⁶²Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	62.007848 ± 0.000644 Da
Mass Number	62
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year	2018
Parity

⁶²Sc Decay Modes

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

⁶³Sc

Abundance	Radioactive ☢️
Relative Atomic Mass	63.014031 ± 0.000751 Da
Mass Number	63
G-Factor
Half Life
Spin	7/2
Quadrupole Moment
Discovery Year
Parity	-

⁶³Sc Decay Modes

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

History

In 1879, Lars Fredrik Nilson and his team detected scandium in the minerals euxenite and gadolinite. Nilson prepared 2 grams of scandium oxide of high purity. Per Teodor Cleve showed that scandium had properties similar to those predicted by Mendeleev for eka-boron. Metallic scandium was first prepared in 1937 by Fischer and his colleagues. From the Latin word Scandia, Scandinavia

Discoverers	Lars Nilson
Discovery Location	Sweden
Discovery Year	1879
Etymology (Name Origin)	Latin: Scandia, Scandinavia.
Pronunciation	SKAN-di-em (English)

Scandium is considered to be of low toxicity

The stable form of scandium is created in supernovas via the r-process

Uses

Scandium is used in sports equipment such as golf iron shafts, baseball bats, bicycle frames and fishing rods. Scandium iodide, along with sodium iodide, when added to a modified form of mercury-vapor lamp, produces a form of metal halide lamp. The radioactive isotope ⁴⁶Sc is used in oil refineries as a tracing agent. Scandium metal is used in some aerospace applications. Scandum oxide (Sc2O3) is used in the manufacture of high-intensity electric lamps. Scandium iodide (ScI3) is used in lamps that produce light having a color closely matching natural sunlight.

Sources

Occurs mainly in the minerals thortveitile (~34% scandium) and wiikite. Also in some tin and tungsten ores. Pure scandium is obtained as a by-product of uranium refining.

Abundance
Abundance in Earth's crust	22 mg/kg
Abundance in Oceans	0.0000006 mg/L
Abundance in Human Body
Abundance in Meteor	0.00064 %
Abundance in Sun	0.000004 %
Abundance in Universe	0.000003 %

Nuclear Screening Constants

1	s	0.5434
2	p	3.9454
2	s	6.4264
3	d	13.8801
3	p	11.5938
3	s	10.6602
4	s	16.3676

Scandium on ChemicalAid

Art & Architecture Thesaurus ID	300386739
Australian Educational Vocabulary ID	scot/3572
BNCF Thesaurus ID	38291
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID	12201543p
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID	scandium
CAB ID	264931
CAS Registry Number	7440-20-2
ChEBI ID	33330
ChemSpider ID	22392
Common Procurement Vocabulary	14723000
DSSTOX compound identifier	DTXCID1047653
DSSTox substance ID	DTXSID9064689
Den Store Danske ID	scandium
ECHA Substance Infocard ID	100.028.299
Elhuyar ZTH ID	023493
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID	science/scandium
Encyclopædia Universalis ID	scandium
Freebase ID	/m/025sf87
French Vikidia ID	Scandium
GND ID	4051871-1
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID	0104320
Great Russian Encyclopedia Online ID	3667562
InChI	InChI=1S/Sc
InChIKey	SIXSYDAISGFNSX-UHFFFAOYSA-N
KBpedia ID	Scandium
Latvian National Encyclopedia Online ID	138972
Library of Congress authority ID	sh85117977
MeSH descriptor ID	D012538
NE.se ID	skandium
NKCR AUT ID	ph543051
Namuwiki ID	스칸듐
National Diet Library ID	00571660
National Library of Israel J9U ID	987007558467005171
OmegaWiki Defined Meaning	357984
OpenAlex ID	C551831248
PSH ID	5756
PubChem CID	23952
Quora topic ID	Scandium
RxNorm ID	1311273
Spanish Vikidia ID	Escandio
Store norske leksikon ID	scandium
Treccani ID	scandio
UNII	YUJ4U1EW7R
WordNet 3.1 Synset ID	14678010-n
YSO ID	38599
ZVG number	7210

Scandium (Sc)

Properties

Isotopes of Scandium

35Sc

35Sc Decay Modes

36Sc

36Sc Decay Modes

37Sc

37Sc Decay Modes

38Sc

38Sc Decay Modes

39Sc

39Sc Decay Modes

40Sc

40Sc Decay Modes

41Sc

41Sc Decay Modes

42Sc

42Sc Decay Modes

43Sc

43Sc Decay Modes

44Sc

44Sc Decay Modes

45Sc

46Sc

46Sc Decay Modes

47Sc

47Sc Decay Modes

48Sc

48Sc Decay Modes

49Sc

49Sc Decay Modes

50Sc

50Sc Decay Modes

51Sc

51Sc Decay Modes

52Sc

52Sc Decay Modes

53Sc

53Sc Decay Modes

54Sc

54Sc Decay Modes

55Sc

55Sc Decay Modes

56Sc

56Sc Decay Modes

57Sc

57Sc Decay Modes

58Sc

58Sc Decay Modes

59Sc

59Sc Decay Modes

60Sc

60Sc Decay Modes

61Sc

61Sc Decay Modes

62Sc

62Sc Decay Modes

63Sc

63Sc Decay Modes