Thermal Conductivity of the Elements

Unit W/mK

Thermal conductivity is a measure of a material's ability to conduct heat, commonly denoted by k or λ. Metals typically have high thermal conductivity, while insulating materials have low thermal conductivity. Its reciprocal is called thermal resistivity.

Data available for 94 of 118 elements. Highest: Silver (430 W/mK). Lowest: Radon (0.00361 W/mK).

Visualize Thermal Conductivity in the periodic table →

118 elements

Thermal Conductivity of the Elements
		Symbol
47	Silver	Ag	430
29	Copper	Cu	400
79	Gold	Au	320
13	Aluminum	Al	235
20	Calcium	Ca	200
4	Beryllium	Be	190
74	Tungsten	W	170
12	Magnesium	Mg	160
14	Silicon	Si	150
45	Rhodium	Rh	150
77	Iridium	Ir	150
6	Carbon	C	140
11	Sodium	Na	140
42	Molybdenum	Mo	139
30	Zinc	Zn	120
44	Ruthenium	Ru	120
19	Potassium	K	100
27	Cobalt	Co	100
48	Cadmium	Cd	97
24	Chromium	Cr	94
28	Nickel	Ni	91
76	Osmium	Os	88
3	Lithium	Li	85
49	Indium	In	82
26	Iron	Fe	80
46	Palladium	Pd	72
78	Platinum	Pt	72
50	Tin	Sn	67
32	Germanium	Ge	60
37	Rubidium	Rb	58
73	Tantalum	Ta	57
41	Niobium	Nb	54
90	Thorium	Th	54
43	Technetium	Tc	51
33	Arsenic	As	50
75	Rhenium	Re	48
91	Protactinium	Pa	47
81	Thallium	Tl	46
70	Ytterbium	Yb	39
55	Cesium	Cs	36
38	Strontium	Sr	35
82	Lead	Pb	35
23	Vanadium	V	31
31	Gallium	Ga	29
5	Boron	B	27
92	Uranium	U	27
51	Antimony	Sb	24
40	Zirconium	Zr	23
72	Hafnium	Hf	23
22	Titanium	Ti	22
88	Radium	Ra	19
56	Barium	Ba	18
39	Yttrium	Y	17
60	Neodymium	Nd	17
69	Thulium	Tm	17
21	Scandium	Sc	16
67	Holmium	Ho	16
71	Lutetium	Lu	16
61	Promethium	Pm	15
68	Erbium	Er	15
63	Europium	Eu	14
57	Lanthanum	La	13
59	Praseodymium	Pr	13
62	Samarium	Sm	13
89	Actinium	Ac	12
58	Cerium	Ce	11
64	Gadolinium	Gd	11
65	Terbium	Tb	11
66	Dysprosium	Dy	11
95	Americium	Am	10
97	Berkelium	Bk	10
80	Mercury	Hg	8.3
83	Bismuth	Bi	8
25	Manganese	Mn	7.8
93	Neptunium	Np	6
94	Plutonium	Pu	6
52	Tellurium	Te	3
85	Astatine	At	2
34	Selenium	Se	0.52
53	Iodine	I	0.449
15	Phosphorus	P	0.236
16	Sulfur	S	0.205
1	Hydrogen	H	0.1805
2	Helium	He	0.1513
35	Bromine	Br	0.12
10	Neon	Ne	0.0491
9	Fluorine	F	0.0277
8	Oxygen	O	0.02658
7	Nitrogen	N	0.02583
18	Argon	Ar	0.01772
36	Krypton	Kr	0.00943
17	Chlorine	Cl	0.0089
54	Xenon	Xe	0.00565
86	Radon	Rn	0.00361
84	Polonium	Po	—
87	Francium	Fr	—
96	Curium	Cm	—
98	Californium	Cf	—
99	Einsteinium	Es	—
100	Fermium	Fm	—
101	Mendelevium	Md	—
102	Nobelium	No	—
103	Lawrencium	Lr	—
104	Rutherfordium	Rf	—
105	Dubnium	Db	—
106	Seaborgium	Sg	—
107	Bohrium	Bh	—
108	Hassium	Hs	—
109	Meitnerium	Mt	—
110	Darmstadtium	Ds	—
111	Roentgenium	Rg	—
112	Copernicium	Cn	—
113	Nihonium	Nh	—
114	Flerovium	Fl	—
115	Moscovium	Mc	—
116	Livermorium	Lv	—
117	Tennessine	Ts	—
118	Oganesson	Og	—

Thermal Conductivity of the Elements

Related properties