Rubidium - Material Information

Rubidium (Rb) is a soft, silvery alkali metal belonging to Group 1 of the periodic table. Highly reactive and electropositive, it ignites spontaneously in air and reacts violently with water, forming rubidium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Despite its rarity, rubidium’s unique thermal and electronic properties make it valuable in advanced research applications, including atomic physics, catalysis, and specialty alloys.

Material Overview

Rubidium has a body-centered cubic (bcc) crystal structure and a low melting point of 39.3 °C, enabling easy transition to a liquid phase under mild conditions. Its thermal conductivity ranges from 35 to 60 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹ between 300 and 800 K, as determined by Agazhanov et al. (2017). Rubidium’s electronic configuration ([Kr]5s¹) leads to high electrical conductivity in the metallic state and strong reactivity with nonmetals, especially halogens and oxygen. In molten form, Rb displays low viscosity and high heat transport efficiency, confirmed through laser flash thermal diffusivity measurements. Experimental results by Agazhanov et al. (2019) demonstrated that rubidium–bismuth (Rb–Bi) alloys exhibit enhanced heat transfer and associated ionic complex formation at elevated temperatures.

Applications and Advantages

Although pure rubidium is too reactive for most structural uses, its controlled compounds and alloys are highly significant. Rubidium vapor is utilized in atomic clocks and laser-cooling experiments, while Rb–Bi and Rb–Au systems are being investigated for thermal interface materials and low-melting metal composites (Aycibin et al., 2014). In hydride form (RbMH?, where M = B, Al, Ga), rubidium shows high hydrogen storage potential and mechanical stability under moderate pressures (Manoharan et al., 2015). Due to its high ionization potential and predictable conductivity, rubidium also finds niche roles in heat transfer loops, thermionic devices, and vacuum tube cathodes.

Goodfellow Availability

Goodfellow provides research-grade rubidium metal and related compounds for laboratory and high-temperature experimental applications. Materials are available in small quantities and customizable purities. Explore rubidium and other alkali metals through the Goodfellow product finder.

References

• Agazhanov, A. Sh., Abdullaev, R. N., Samoshkin, D. A., & Stankus, S. V. (2017). Thermal conductivity of liquid rubidium in the interval of 312–873 K. Thermophysics and Aeromechanics, 24(6), 945–952. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0869864317060117
• Agazhanov, A. Sh., Abdullaev, R. N., Samoshkin, D. A., & Stankus, S. V. (2019). Thermal conductivity of rubidium–bismuth alloy of equiatomic composition. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1382, 012174. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1382/1/012174
• Manoharan, S., Ratnavelu, R., Ganesapandian, S., Shanmugam, K., & Iyakutti, K. (2015). Investigation of structural, electronic and mechanical properties of rubidium metal hydrides RbMH? (M = B, Al, Ga). Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 28(7), 815–822. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40195-015-0281-1
• Aycibin, M., Dogan, E. K., Gulebaglan, S. E., Secuk, M. N., Erdinc, B., & Akkus, H. (2014). Physical properties of RbAu compound. Computational Condensed Matter, 1(4), 70–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COCOM.2014.10.004