Role Of Bismuth In Organic Chemistry

Bismuth was discovered in the fifteenth century by a french chemist named Claude Geoffroy the Younger. At first his colleagues thought he was crazy, thinking that he had found lead or tin. But Geoffroy had distinguished it as a unique element. The name Bismuth comes from the word Wisuth meaning “white mass”, because pure Bismuth is white. When pure bismuth is mixed with lead, tin,iron or cadmium the multi colored Bismuth is created.
Bismuth falls under the pnictogen family. This family consists of elements that have five electrons in the outer electron level. These elements are nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and Bismuth. Bismuth is a Crystalline metal. Being a crystalline metal Bismuth is a solid state of matter. Bismuth has an Atomic
Conductivity- measure of ability to conduct electricity. Bismuth has a high resistance to electricity, which is unusual for a metal. Ductility- When a solid material stretches or breaks under tensile stress. Natural occurring and man made Bismuth have a very low ductility. The hardness of Bismuth is 2-2.5.
Bismuth has 33 isotopes with mass numbers from 185 to 217. Bismuth-209 is the only stable isotope, even with the natural radioactivity. Since Bismuth is slightly radioactive it has a slow rate of Alpha particle decay. Alpha Particle Decay is a type of radioactive decay within an atomic nucleus which emits an alpha particle, emitting the alpha particle would be called the decay event, and transforms it into an atom with a reduced mass number.
When bismuth reacts with elements like air, water, acids, bases,and halogens it drastically changes the form of the element. When Bismuth is heated and reacts with oxygen the air forms the the trioxide bismuth(III) oxide which creates a bluish white. When Bismuth is red heat, near melting point, and put into water, the water quickly cools down the Bismuth without drastically raising in temperature. When bismuth reacts with Halogens, such as fluorine, chlorine bromine, iodine, and astatine, they create trihalides for
It has about the same abundance as silver. Major producers of bismuth are found in Peru, China, Japan, Mexico, Bolivia, and Canada. For a slightly radioactive element, bismuth surprisingly has a lot of uses. Bismuth is melted down with other metals such as lead, tin, iron, and cadmium to form low melting alloys, which are used to build automatic fire sprinklers fire detection systems, and electrical fuses. Bismuth is also used in medicines, most famously in Pepto Bismol. That's why the b in “Bismol” is capitalized, because of the bismuth use. Bismuth is also used in makeup products and lead bullet replacement. Bismuth is known to be toxic, but only if you have too much at a time. Bismuth has no dangerous effect on the environment. In the last 20 years the demand for bismuth has risen due to its effective use as a substitute for lead in bullets. The cost for bismuth is $11 per 100 grams. Sales are open to everyone from the military to and average highschool student like me. It can be bought in powder, crystal, and alloy form. Alloy as being the most expensive to powder being the least