Astatine is a chemical compound with symbol At and atomic number 85, which is a radioactive element. Astatine is named after a Greek word astatos, meaning unstable. It is the member of block p and period 6 of the periodic table and it belongs to halogens family. It is one among the rarest naturally found on the earth. Even after decades of discovery, research only little has been known about astatine. Astatine was discovered in 1940 by scientists Dale Corson, Kenneth McKenzie and Emilio Segre.
Astatine Properties
Astatine breaks down very soon, thus not allowing much experimentation. Therefore very less properties are known till date for astatine.
- Melting point: 302 degree Celsius, boiling point: 337 degree Celsius.
- Astatine is highly toxic because of its high radioactivity.
- Electronegativity according to Pauling: 2.2, its phase at STP is solid.
- Mass number of astatine is 210, which is the most stable isotope of astatine.
- It has covalent radius of 150pm and Van der Waals radius of 202pm.
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