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Gallium

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Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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FormalPara Element Data

Atomic symbol: Ga

Atomic number: 31

Atomic weight: 69.723 ± 1 g/mol

Isotopes and abundances:69Ga 60.1 %;71Ga 39.9 %

1 Atm melting point: 29.8 °C

1 Atm boiling point: ~2,400 °C

Common valences: +3

Ionic radii values: 47 pm (fourfold); 62 pm (sixfold)

Pauling electronegativity: 1.81

First ionization energy: 174.6 kJ/mol

Chondritic (CI) abundance: 9.5 ± 0.3 μg/g

Silicate Earth abundance: 4.0 μg/g

Crustal abundance: 17.5 μg/g

Seawater abundance: ~1.2 pg/g

Core abundance: <1 μg/g

Properties

Gallium does not occur as a native metal and forms very few minerals like gallite (CuGaS2), but widely occurs in nature as a trace constituent substituted for Al. Gallium metal is prepared as a by-product of aluminum production from bauxite ore and from Zn ores (e.g., sphalerite). Synthetically prepared metallic Ga is a soft, silvery...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32308, USA

    Munir Humayun

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  1. Munir Humayun
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Correspondence to Munir Humayun .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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Humayun, M. (2016). Gallium. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_246-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_246-1

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