Difference Between Zinc and Zinc Oxide

The key difference between zinc and zinc oxide is that the zinc is a chemical element whereas zinc oxide is a chemical compound.

Zinc is a metallic chemical element in the d block of the periodic table of elements. It forms many compounds such as oxides, sulfides, etc. Zinc oxide is one such chemical compound that contains zinc and oxygen atoms. It exists as a white solid. Let us talk more details on zinc and its oxide below.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Zinc
3. What is Zinc Oxide
4. Side by Side Comparison – Zinc vs Zinc Oxide in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Zinc?

Zinc is a chemical element having the atomic number 30 and the chemical symbol Zn. This chemical element resembles magnesium when we consider its chemical properties. This is mainly because both these elements show +2 oxidation state as the stable oxidation state and also the Mg⁺² and Zn⁺² cations are of similar size. Moreover, this is the 24^th most abundant chemical element on the earth’s crust. Some chemical facts about zinc are as follows:

Chemical symbol – Zn
Atomic number – 30
Standard atomic weight – 65.38
Appearance – silver grey solid
Group – 12
Period – 4
Block – d block
Element category – post-transition metal
Electron configuration – [Ar] 3d¹⁰ 4s²
Phase at standard temperature and pressure – solid phase
Melting point – 419.53 °C
Boiling point – 907 °C
Crystal structure – hcp (hexagonal close-packed)

When considering the zinc metal, it is a diamagnetic metal and has a bluish-white lustrous appearance. At most temperatures, this metal is hard and brittle. However, it becomes malleable in between 100 and 150 °C. Moreover, this is a fair conductor of electricity. However, it has low melting and boiling points when compared to most other metals.

Figure 01: Zinc Metal

When considering the occurrence of this metal, the earth’s crust has about 0.0075% of zinc. We Cn find this element in soil, sea water, copper and lead ores, etc. Moreover, this element is most likely to be found in combination with sulfur.

What is Zinc Oxide?

Zinc oxide is a chemical compound having the chemical formula ZnO. It is an inorganic compound. The oxidation state of zinc in this compound is +2 and for oxygen, it is -2. It appears as a white solid that is insoluble in water. However, in nature, it occurs as the mineral Zincite; a rare mineral. This mineral contains manganese and some other impurities. Therefore, it appears as a yellow or red colour. Apart from that, crystalline zinc oxide is thermochromic. It means that its white colour converts into a yellow colour upon heating in air and it can turn back to white colour upon cooling. Some chemical facts about zinc oxide are as follows:

Chemical formula – ZnO
Molar mass – 81.38 g/mol
Appearance – white solid
Phase at standard temperature and pressure – solid phase
Melting point – 1,975 °C
Boiling point – decomposes above 1,975 °C
Crystal structure – Wurtzite

Key Difference Between Zinc and Zinc Oxide

Figure 02: Zinc Oxide

We use this compound in the production of rubbers, plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, lubricants, etc. as an additive. Moreover, it has semiconductor properties. The favourable properties that this compound has, in order to be used as a semiconductor are transparency, high electron mobility, wide bandgap, etc.

What is the Difference Between Zinc and Zinc Oxide?

Zinc is a chemical element having the atomic number 30 and the chemical symbol Zn whereas the zinc oxide is a chemical compound having the chemical formula ZnO. This is the key difference between zinc and zinc oxide. That is, the zinc oxide is an inorganic compound derived from zinc chemical element. It is in combination with oxygen. Since zinc is a chemical element, we can give its atomic weight (the standard atomic weight is 65.38 for zinc) while we can give the molar mass or molar weight for zinc oxide (molar mass is 81.38 g/mol.) because it is a chemical compound.

Moreover, there is also a difference between zinc and zinc oxide in appearance. The zinc appears as a lustrous silver-grey solid whereas the zinc oxide appears as a white solid in standard temperature and pressure. Apart from that, another difference between zinc and zinc oxide is that we can use zinc oxide in the preparation of semiconductors, but zinc alone has no semiconductor properties.

The below infographic presents more details on the difference between zinc and zinc oxide in tabular form.

Summary – Zinc vs Zinc Oxide

Zinc is a chemical element that we know very well as a metal. Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound which contains zinc and oxygen in combination with each other. Thus, the key difference between zinc and zinc oxide is that zinc is a chemical element whereas zinc oxide is a chemical compound.

Reference:

1. “Zinc.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Sept. 2018. Available here
2. “Zinc Oxide.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Aug. 2018. Available here

Image Courtesy:

1.”Zinc fragment sublimed and 1cm3 cube”By Alchemist-hp – Own work, (FAL) via Commons Wikimedia
2.”Zinc oxide”By w:User:Walkerma – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia