Atomic number 30
Zinc
Transition metal
Quick facts
- Atomic mass
- 65.380
- Group
- 12
- Period
- 4
- State (STP)
- solid
- Electronegativity
- 1.65
- Common ox. states
- +2
Properties
Electron configuration
[Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s²
- Ionization energy
- 906.4 kJ/mol
- Electron affinity
- -58.0 kJ/mol
- Melting point
- 692.68 K (419.5 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1180.00 K (906.9 °C)
How it bonds
Zinc has a filled 3d shell, so it behaves more like a main-group metal than a true transition metal — only the +2 state, all compounds colorless. Zn²⁺ is the active site in many enzymes (carbonic anhydrase, alcohol dehydrogenase). Galvanizing = coating steel in zinc to protect it from rusting.