Boiling point

The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid^[1][2] and the liquid changes into a vapor.

The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding environmental pressure. A liquid in a partial vacuum, i.e., under a lower pressure, has a lower boiling point than when that liquid is at atmospheric pressure. Because of this, water boils at 100°C (or with scientific precision: 99.97 °C (211.95 °F)) under standard pressure at sea level, but at 93.4 °C (200.1 °F) at 1,905 metres (6,250 ft)^[3] altitude. For a given pressure, different liquids will boil at different temperatures.

The normal boiling point (also called the atmospheric boiling point or the atmospheric pressure boiling point) of a liquid is the special case in which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the defined atmospheric pressure at sea level, one

Liquids may change to a vapor at temperatures below their boiling points through the process of evaporation. Evaporation is a surface phenomenon in which molecules located near the liquid's edge, not contained by enough liquid pressure on that side, escape into the surroundings as vapor. On the other hand, boiling is a process in which molecules anywhere in the liquid escape, resulting in the formation of vapor bubbles within the liquid.

Saturation temperature and pressure

A saturated liquid contains as much thermal energy as it can without boiling (or conversely a saturated vapor contains as little thermal energy as it can without condensing).

Saturation temperature means boiling point. The saturation temperature is the temperature for a corresponding saturation pressure at which a liquid boils into its vapor phase. The liquid can be said to be saturated with thermal energy. Any addition of thermal energy results in a phase transition.

If the pressure in a system remains constant (isobaric), a vapor at saturation temperature will begin to condense into its liquid phase as thermal energy (heat) is removed. Similarly, a liquid at saturation temperature and pressure will boil into its vapor phase as additional thermal energy is applied.

The boiling point corresponds to the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the surrounding environmental pressure. Thus, the boiling point is dependent on the pressure. Boiling points may be published with respect to the

${\displaystyle T_{\text{B}}}$ is the boiling point at the pressure of interest,

${\displaystyle R}$ is the

ideal gas constant

,

${\displaystyle P}$ is the vapor pressure of the liquid,

${\displaystyle P_{0}}$ is some pressure where the corresponding ${\displaystyle T_{0}}$ is known (usually data available at 1 atm or 100 kPa),

${\displaystyle \Delta H_{\text{vap}}}$ is the

heat of vaporization

of the liquid,

${\displaystyle T_{0}}$ is the boiling temperature,

${\displaystyle \ln }$ is the natural logarithm.

Saturation pressure is the pressure for a corresponding saturation temperature at which a liquid boils into its vapor phase. Saturation pressure and saturation temperature have a direct relationship: as saturation pressure is increased, so is saturation temperature.

If the temperature in a

There are two conventions regarding the standard boiling point of water: The normal boiling point is 99.97 °C (211.9 °F) at a pressure of 1 atm (i.e., 101.325 kPa). The IUPAC-recommended standard boiling point of water at a standard pressure of 100 kPa (1 bar)^[7] is 99.61 °C (211.3 °F).^[6][8] For comparison, on top of Mount Everest, at 8,848 m (29,029 ft) elevation, the pressure is about 34 kPa (255 Torr)^[9] and the boiling point of water is 71 °C (160 °F). The Celsius temperature scale was defined until 1954 by two points: 0 °C being defined by the water freezing point and 100 °C being defined by the water boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure.

Relation between the normal boiling point and the vapor pressure of liquids

The higher the vapor pressure of a liquid at a given temperature, the lower the normal boiling point (i.e., the boiling point at atmospheric pressure) of the liquid.

The vapor pressure chart to the right has graphs of the vapor pressures versus temperatures for a variety of liquids.^[10] As can be seen in the chart, the liquids with the highest vapor pressures have the lowest normal boiling points.

For example, at any given temperature,

The critical point of a liquid is the highest temperature (and pressure) it will actually boil at.

See also Vapour pressure of water.

Boiling point of chemical elements

The element with the lowest boiling point is

As can be seen from the above plot of the logarithm of the vapor pressure vs. the temperature for any given pure chemical compound, its normal boiling point can serve as an indication of that compound's overall volatility. A given pure compound has only one normal boiling point, if any, and a compound's normal boiling point and melting point can serve as characteristic physical properties for that compound, listed in reference books. The higher a compound's normal boiling point, the less volatile that compound is overall, and conversely, the lower a compound's normal boiling point, the more volatile that compound is overall. Some compounds decompose at higher temperatures before reaching their normal boiling point, or sometimes even their melting point. For a stable compound, the boiling point ranges from its triple point to its critical point, depending on the external pressure. Beyond its triple point, a compound's normal boiling point, if any, is higher than its melting point. Beyond the critical point, a compound's liquid and vapor phases merge into one phase, which may be called a superheated gas. At any given temperature, if a compound's normal boiling point is lower, then that compound will generally exist as a gas at atmospheric external pressure. If the compound's normal boiling point is higher, then that compound can exist as a liquid or solid at that given temperature at atmospheric external pressure, and will so exist in equilibrium with its vapor (if volatile) if its vapors are contained. If a compound's vapors are not contained, then some volatile compounds can eventually evaporate away in spite of their higher boiling points.

dimerize by forming hydrogen bonds between molecules. A minor factor affecting boiling points is the shape of a molecule. Making the shape of a molecule more compact tends to lower the normal boiling point slightly compared to an equivalent molecule with more surface area.

Comparison of butane (C₄H₁₀) isomer boiling points

Common name	n-butane	isobutane
IUPAC name	butane	2-methylpropane
Molecular form
Boiling point (°C)	−0.5	−11.7

Comparison of pentane isomer boiling points

Common name	n-pentane	isopentane	neopentane
IUPAC name	pentane	2-methylbutane	2,2-dimethylpropane
Molecular form
Boiling point (°C)	36.0	27.7	9.5

Most volatile compounds (anywhere near ambient temperatures) go through an intermediate liquid phase while warming up from a solid phase to eventually transform to a vapor phase. By comparison to boiling, a

Impurities and mixtures

In the preceding section, boiling points of pure compounds were covered. Vapor pressures and boiling points of substances can be affected by the presence of dissolved impurities (

In other mixtures of miscible compounds (components), there may be two or more components of varying volatility, each having its own pure component boiling point at any given pressure. The presence of other volatile components in a mixture affects the vapor pressures and thus boiling points and dew points of all the components in the mixture. The dew point is a temperature at which a vapor condenses into a liquid. Furthermore, at any given temperature, the composition of the vapor is different from the composition of the liquid in most such cases. In order to illustrate these effects between the volatile components in a mixture, a boiling point diagram is commonly used. Distillation is a process of boiling and [usually] condensation which takes advantage of these differences in composition between liquid and vapor phases.

Table

v t e Boiling point of the elements in the periodic table
Group  →	1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
↓  Period
1	H2 20.271 K (−252.879 °C)																		He4.222 K (−268.928 °C)
2	Li1603 K (1330 °C)	Be2742 K (2469 °C)												B 4200 K (3927 °C)	C 3915 K (subl.) (3642 °C)	N2 77.355 K (−195.795 °C)	O2 90.188 K (−182.962 °C)	F2 85.03 K (−188.11 °C)	Ne27.104 K (−246.046 °C)
3	Na1156.090 K (882.940 °C)	Mg1363 K (1091 °C)												Al2743 K (2470 °C)	Si3538 K (3265 °C)	P 553.7 K (280.5 °C)	S 717.8 K (444.6 °C)	Cl2239.11 K (−34.04 °C)	Ar87.302 K (−185.848 °C)
4	K 1032 K (759 °C)	Ca1757 K (1484 °C)		Sc3109 K (2836 °C)	Ti3560 K (3287 °C)	V 3680 K (3407 °C)	Cr2945.15 K (2672.0 °C)	Mn2334 K (2061 °C)	Fe3134 K (2861 °C)	Co3200 K (2927 °C)	Ni3003 K (2730 °C)	Cu2835 K (2562 °C)	Zn1180 K (907 °C)	Ga2673 K (2400 °C)	Ge3106 K (2833 °C)	As887 K (subl.) (615 °C)	Se958 K (685 °C)	Br2332.0 K (58.8 °C)	Kr119.735 K (−153.415 °C)
5	Rb961 K (688 °C)	Sr1650 K (1377 °C)		Y 3203 K (2930 °C)	Zr4650 K (4377 °C)	Nb5017 K (4744 °C)	Mo4912 K (4639 °C)	Tc4538 K (4265 °C)	Ru4423 K (4150 °C)	Rh3968 K (3695 °C)	Pd3236 K (2963 °C)	Ag2483 K (2210 °C)	Cd1040 K (767 °C)	In2345 K (2072 °C)	Sn2875 K (2602 °C)	Sb1908 K (1635 °C)	Te1261 K (988 °C)	I2 457.4 K (184.3 °C)	Xe165.051 K (−108.099 °C)
6	Cs944 K (671 °C)	Ba2118 K (1845 °C)		Lu3675 K (3402 °C)	Hf4876 K (4603 °C)	Ta5731 K (5458 °C)	W 6203 K (5930 °C)	Re5900.15 K (5627.0 °C)	Os5285 K (5012 °C)	Ir4403 K (4130 °C)	Pt4098 K (3825 °C)	Au3243 K (2970 °C)	Hg629.88 K (356.73 °C)	Tl1746 K (1473 °C)	Pb2022 K (1749 °C)	Bi1837 K (1564 °C)	Po1235 K (962 °C)	At2503±3 K (230±3 °C)	Rn211.5 K (−61.7 °C)
7	Fr950 K (677 °C)	Ra2010 K (1737 °C)		Lr	Rf5800 K (5500 °C)	Db	Sg	Bh	Hs	Mt	Ds	Rg	Cn340±10 K (67±10 °C)	Nh1430 K (1130 °C)	Fl380 K (107 °C)	Mc~1400 K (~1100 °C)	Lv1035–1135 K (762–862 °C)	Ts883 K (610 °C)	Og450±10 K (177±10 °C)
				La3737 K (3464 °C)	Ce3716 K (3443 °C)6	Pr3403 K (3130 °C)	Nd3347 K (3074 °C)	Pm3273 K (3000 °C)	Sm2173 K (1900 °C)	Eu1802 K (1529 °C)	Gd3546 K (3273 °C)	Tb3396 K (3123 °C)	Dy2840 K (2567 °C)	Ho2873 K (2600 °C)	Er3141 K (2868 °C)	Tm2223 K (1950 °C)	Yb1469 K (1196 °C)
				Ac3471 K (3198 °C)	Th5061 K (4788 °C)	Pa4300? K (4027 °C)	U 4404 K (4131 °C)	Np4175.15 K (3902.0 °C)	Pu3508.15 K (3235.0 °C)	Am2880 K (2607 °C)	Cm3383 K (3110 °C)	Bk2900 K (2627 °C)	Cf1743 K (1470 °C)	Es1269  (996 °C)	Fm	Md	No
Legend
Values are in kelvin K and degrees Celsius °C, rounded
For the equivalent in degrees Fahrenheit °F, see: Boiling points of the elements (data page)
Some values are predictions
Primordial  From decay  Synthetic Border shows natural occurrence of the element s-block g-block f-block d-block p-block

See also

• Boiling points of the elements (data page)
• Boiling-point elevation
• Critical point (thermodynamics)
• Ebulliometer, a device to accurately measure the boiling point of liquids
• Hagedorn temperature
• Joback method (Estimation of normal boiling points from molecular structure)
• List of gases including boiling points
• Melting point
• Subcooling
• Superheating
• Trouton's constant
  relating latent heat to boiling point
• Triple point

References