Camryn Bowles

Mr. Wellman

Chemistry: Element Project

12 November 2018

Element Number 77

Have you ever discovered who and how different elements in the periodic table were

discovered. Well, I’m here to tell you a little bit about the element Iridium. As an element, it sits

in a table amongst 117 other elements. Therefore giving you a grand total of 118 elements. All

118 elements are strategically arranged in order of their atomic numbers. Elements with similar

properties are arranged in the same group or column. Elements with the same amount of valence

electrons are placed in the same period or row. Iridium happened to be given the atomic number

77. Atomic numbers are determined by the number of protons in the nucleus of each element.

When it comes to the element iridium, it can be interesting to learn about its history, physical and

chemical properties, and some fun facts!

Iridium was discovered in London in 1803. It was discovered along with osmium by a

chemist, Smithson Tennant. Tennant was a famous chemist, but most known for his discovery of

these two elements. He first discovered iridium when a sudden residue was left behind from one

of his mixtures. This mixture was a combination of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and platinum

in its’ pure form. The solution of the two acids is commonly known as, “ aqua regia.” The

residue left from the mixture first appeared as a black substance, looking a lot like graphite.

Tennant then took the residue and introduced it to different acids and alkalis’ and was able to

separate it into two completely different elements, iridium and osmium. He gave iridium its
name due to its salts being so colorful. The name came from a Greek Goddess of the rainbow,

Iris. Iridium was also given the symbol Ir.

The periodic table is separated into three different types of elements. There are metals,

metalloids, and nonmetals. 80 percent of the periodic table is made up of metals. The other 20

percent is made of nonmetals and metalloids. Element 77, iridium, happens to be a metal. Given

the atomic number of iridium is 77, it means there are 77 protons in the nucleus. It has the atomic

mass of 192.22. In the periodic table the atomic mass of an element is located in the bottom part

of the box, under the symbol. Iridium has 77 protons and electrons and has 115 neutrons. Each

element has a different melting and boiling point. While some may be similar, they all are

unique. The boiling point of Ir is 4428 degrees celsius. On the other hand, the melting point of Ir

is 2446 degrees celsius. Although iridium was found as a black residue similar to graphite, it was

mixed with the element osmium. Iridium is actually a silvery-white in color and does not has a

specified odor. As Ir is in its normal phase, it acts as a solid. As for naturally occurring isotopes

there are only two found for iridium. The two isotopes are iridium-191 and iridium-193. Iridium-

191 has a natural abundance of 37.3 percent and iridium-193 has a natural abundance of 62.7

percent.

Throughout the periodic table, there is a range of different reactivity for each element.

Elements can be either not reactive at all, dangerously reactive, or somewhere inbetween.

Iridium is very unreactive. In fact, iridium is about as unreactive as gold, Au. Along with being

very unreactive, it is also extremely corrosion-resistant. The definition of corrosion-resistant

refers to how well a substance can withstand damage caused by oxidation and other chemical

reactions. Iridium is the most corrosion-resistant metals known. It cannot be attack by acids or
aqua regia and can only be attacked by molten salts such as NaCl or NaCN. Element 77 has a

heat of vaporization set at 560 kJ/mol.

Iridium is said to be found all over the world. It was first found in the rocks and the

earth’s crust. Over the years scientist have tried to reason through the extinction of dinosaurs. As

they found that the element iridium is found in meteorites. Scientists believe that in the time of

dinosaurs a meteorites hit the earth's surface. They believe once it hit the earth’s crust, iridium

spread and the darkness covered the light of the sun. Without the light of the sun many plants

and animals died off; including dinosaurs. It is a very rare element to be found on its own on

earth but it is most abundant in different parts of the universe and in meteorites. There is said to

be about only 1x10^-3 milligrams/kilograms on earth As for in the periodic table, Ir is found

amongst the metals. Iridium is element 77 which is practically right in the middle of the periodic

table. To be exact it is in group 9a and located in period 6. As it it is a metal, it is specifically a

transition metal.

Since the element iridium is not toxic nor reactive it has many different uses in our

everyday lives. Ir is found in objects such as tips of fountain pens and compass bearings when

alloyed with osmium. It is also a hardening agent for platinum. There are many different

compounds that have to do with iridium. A compound is a thing that is composed of two or more

separate elements; a mixture. Listed in the work cited page there is a entire website of iridium

compounds. A few are IrF3, IrCl2, and Ir2S3. Some things that I found interesting out this

element are that iridium is the second most dense element after osmium. Iridium is said to be

silvery-white but it actually has a yellowish hue to it which is kind of cool to me. Lastly, iridium

is very brittle in its pure form, therefore it is very hard to work with.
 Iridium is one of the 118 very unique elements in the periodic table. It was founded in

1803 by one of the many brilliant chemists, Smithson Tennant. Iridium is element number 77

and has the atomic symbol Ir. Although Ir isn’t very toxic, it is believed by many that this

element may have been the reason for the extinction of many plants and animals, including

dinosaurs. Scientists believe this theory because it is found in the earth’s crust. It is to believed

that it entered the earth’s crust thousands of years ago by a meteorite, where most of the elements

abundance is. Iridium is very important and used daily by so many that dont even realized. It is

found on the tips of pens and the bearings of compasses.

Works Cited
Biology Class ONline Ecology, hobart.k12.in.us/ksms/PeriodicTable/iridium.htm.

“Iridium - Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table.” Royal Society of

Chemistry - Advancing Excellence in the Chemical Sciences, www.rsc.org/periodic-

table/element/77/iridium#history.

“IRIDIUM.” Chemistry Explained, www.chemistryexplained.com/elements/C-

K/Iridium.html.

Lettieri, Jimmy. Radon, www.teacher.k12.de.us/~lettieri/pt/ir/ir.htm.

Stewart, Doug, et al. “Theskyserpent.” Chemicool,

www.chemicool.com/elements/iridium.html.

“Technical Data for Iridium.” Isotope Data for Iron-59 in the Periodic Table,

periodictable.com/Elements/077/data.html.

Winter, Mark, et al. “Iridium: Compounds Information.” Neon»Isotope Data

[WebElements Periodic Table], www.webelements.com/iridium/compounds.html.