Selenium

Selenium,  ₃₄Se

General properties
Pronunciation	/sɪˈliːniəm/ ​(sih-LEE-nee-əm)
Appearance	black, red, and gray (not pictured) allotropes
Standard atomic weight (Ar, standard)	7001789710000000000♠78.971(8)
Selenium in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson S ↑ Se ↓ Te arsenic ← selenium → bromine
Atomic number (Z)	34
Group	group 16 (chalcogens)
Period	period 4
Element category	polyatomic nonmetal, sometimes considered a metalloid
Block	p-block
Electron configuration	[Ar] 3d10 4s2 4p4
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 6
Physical properties
Phase at STP	solid
Melting point	494 K ​(221 °C, ​430 °F)
Boiling point	958 K ​(685 °C, ​1265 °F)
Density (near r.t.)	gray: 4.81 g/cm3 alpha: 4.39 g/cm3 vitreous: 4.28 g/cm3
when liquid (at m.p.)	3.99 g/cm3
Critical point	1766 K, 27.2 MPa
Heat of fusion	gray: 6.69 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	95.48 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	25.363 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 500 552 617 704 813 958
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, −1, −2 ​(a strongly acidic oxide)
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 2.55
Ionization energies	1st: 941.0 kJ/mol 2nd: 2045 kJ/mol 3rd: 2973.7 kJ/mol
Atomic radius	empirical: 120 pm
Covalent radius	120±4 pm
Van der Waals radius	190 pm
Spectral lines
Miscellanea
Crystal structure	​hexagonal
Speed of sound thin rod	3350 m/s (at 20 °C)
Thermal expansion	amorphous: 37 µm/(m·K) (at 25 °C)
Thermal conductivity	amorphous: 0.519 W/(m·K)
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic
Magnetic susceptibility	−25.0·10−6 cm3/mol (298 K)
Young's modulus	10 GPa
Shear modulus	3.7 GPa
Bulk modulus	8.3 GPa
Poisson ratio	0.33
Mohs hardness	2.0
Brinell hardness	736 MPa
CAS Number	7782-49-2
History
Naming	after Selene, Greek goddess of the moon
Discovery and first isolation	Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Johann Gottlieb Gahn (1817)
Main isotopes of selenium
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct 72Se syn 8.4 d ε 72As γ – 74Se 0.86% stable 75Se syn 119.8 d ε 75As γ – 76Se 9.23% stable 77Se 7.60% stable 78Se 23.69% stable 79Se trace 3.27×105 y β− 79Br 80Se 49.80% stable 82Se 8.82% 1.08×1020 y β−β− 82Kr
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Selenium is a chemical element with symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, and also has similarities to arsenic. It rarely occurs in its elemental state or as pure ore compounds in the Earth's crust. Selenium (from Ancient Greek σελήνη (selḗnē) "Moon") was discovered in 1817 by Jöns Jacob Berzelius, who noted the similarity of the new element to the previously discovered tellurium (named for the Earth).

Selenium is found in metal sulfide ores, where it partially replaces the sulfur. Commercially, selenium is produced as a byproduct in the refining of these ores, most often during production. Minerals that are pure selenide or selenate compounds are known but rare. The chief commercial uses for selenium today are glassmaking and pigments. Selenium is a semiconductor and is used in photocells. Applications in electronics, once important, have been mostly replaced with silicon semiconductor devices. Selenium is still used in a few types of DC power surge protectors and one type of fluorescent quantum dot.

Selenium salts are toxic in large amounts, but trace amounts are necessary for cellular function in many organisms, including all animals. Selenium is an ingredient in many multivitamins and other dietary supplements, including infant formula. It is a component of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase (which indirectly reduce certain oxidized molecules in animals and some plants). It is also found in three deiodinase enzymes, which convert one thyroid hormone to another. Selenium requirements in plants differ by species, with some plants requiring relatively large amounts and others apparently requiring none.