Cadmium (Cd)

Cadmium is a soft, malleable, ductile, bluish-white divalent metal.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Friedrich Stromeyer discovered cadmium in 1817 as an impurity in zinc carbonate from German pharmacies.
• It is a toxic heavy metal that readily captures thermal neutrons, a property exploited in nuclear reactor control rods.
• Cadmium is used in nickel-cadmium batteries, brilliant yellow and red artists' pigments, and cadmium telluride thin-film solar panels.

Specifications & Metrics

• NUM: 48
• SYMBOL: Cd
• CATEGORY: Transition Metal