Chemical elements listed by melting point
Compare reference melting points of the chemical elements, listed from low to high in degrees Celsius (°C).
A melting point is the temperature at which a solid changes to a liquid at a specified pressure. This page covers all 118 elements: 94 entries in the main comparison, six indicative values, three special cases and 15 elements without an established value in the reference source.
Read the comparison correctly
- Pressure matters: the main list is an educational comparison near atmospheric pressure, not a set of certified values under identical experimental conditions.
- Helium, carbon and arsenic need separate treatment: helium requires pressure to solidify; carbon and arsenic sublime at atmospheric pressure.
- Chemical form matters: an element's allotrope and purity affect its transition temperature. These values describe elements, not their salts, oxides or alloys.
Reference melting points: low to high
Z denotes atomic number. Read down the left-hand table, then continue at the top of the right-hand table. On smaller screens the tables stack. Values are rounded to at most two decimal places; displayed digits do not imply that accuracy for every element.
| Melting point (°C) | Element | Z |
|---|---|---|
| −259.16 | Hydrogen (H) | 1 |
| −248.59 | Neon (Ne) | 10 |
| −219.67 | Fluorine (F) | 9 |
| −218.79 | Oxygen (O) | 8 |
| −210 | Nitrogen (N) | 7 |
| −189.34 | Argon (Ar) | 18 |
| −157.37 | Krypton (Kr) | 36 |
| −111.75 | Xenon (Xe) | 54 |
| −101.5 | Chlorine (Cl) | 17 |
| −71 | Radon (Rn) | 86 |
| −38.83 | Mercury (Hg) | 80 |
| −7.2 | Bromine (Br) | 35 |
| 28.51 | Caesium (Cs) | 55 |
| 29.76 | Gallium (Ga) | 31 |
| 39.31 | Rubidium (Rb) | 37 |
| 44.15* | Phosphorus (P) | 15 |
| 63.69 | Potassium (K) | 19 |
| 97.78 | Sodium (Na) | 11 |
| 113.7 | Iodine (I) | 53 |
| 115.21* | Sulfur (S) | 16 |
| 156.6 | Indium (In) | 49 |
| 180.46 | Lithium (Li) | 3 |
| 220.8 | Selenium (Se) | 34 |
| 231.93 | Tin (Sn) | 50 |
| 254 | Polonium (Po) | 84 |
| 271.41 | Bismuth (Bi) | 83 |
| 304 | Thallium (Tl) | 81 |
| 321.07 | Cadmium (Cd) | 48 |
| 327.46 | Lead (Pb) | 82 |
| 419.53 | Zinc (Zn) | 30 |
| 449.51 | Tellurium (Te) | 52 |
| 630.63 | Antimony (Sb) | 51 |
| 640 | Plutonium (Pu) | 94 |
| 644 | Neptunium (Np) | 93 |
| 650 | Magnesium (Mg) | 12 |
| 660.32 | Aluminium (Al) | 13 |
| 696 | Radium (Ra) | 88 |
| 727 | Barium (Ba) | 56 |
| 777 | Strontium (Sr) | 38 |
| 799 | Cerium (Ce) | 58 |
| 822 | Europium (Eu) | 63 |
| 824 | Ytterbium (Yb) | 70 |
| 842 | Calcium (Ca) | 20 |
| 860 | Einsteinium (Es) | 99 |
| 900 | Californium (Cf) | 98 |
| 920 | Lanthanum (La) | 57 |
| 931 | Praseodymium (Pr) | 59 |
| Melting point (°C) | Element | Z |
|---|---|---|
| 938.25 | Germanium (Ge) | 32 |
| 961.78 | Silver (Ag) | 47 |
| 986 | Berkelium (Bk) | 97 |
| 1016 | Neodymium (Nd) | 60 |
| 1042 | Promethium (Pm) | 61 |
| 1050 | Actinium (Ac) | 89 |
| 1064.18 | Gold (Au) | 79 |
| 1072 | Samarium (Sm) | 62 |
| 1084.62 | Copper (Cu) | 29 |
| 1135 | Uranium (U) | 92 |
| 1176 | Americium (Am) | 95 |
| 1246 | Manganese (Mn) | 25 |
| 1287 | Beryllium (Be) | 4 |
| 1313 | Gadolinium (Gd) | 64 |
| 1345 | Curium (Cm) | 96 |
| 1359 | Terbium (Tb) | 65 |
| 1412 | Dysprosium (Dy) | 66 |
| 1414 | Silicon (Si) | 14 |
| 1455 | Nickel (Ni) | 28 |
| 1472 | Holmium (Ho) | 67 |
| 1495 | Cobalt (Co) | 27 |
| 1522 | Yttrium (Y) | 39 |
| 1529 | Erbium (Er) | 68 |
| 1538 | Iron (Fe) | 26 |
| 1541 | Scandium (Sc) | 21 |
| 1545 | Thulium (Tm) | 69 |
| 1554.8 | Palladium (Pd) | 46 |
| 1572 | Protactinium (Pa) | 91 |
| 1663 | Lutetium (Lu) | 71 |
| 1670 | Titanium (Ti) | 22 |
| 1750 | Thorium (Th) | 90 |
| 1768.2 | Platinum (Pt) | 78 |
| 1854 | Zirconium (Zr) | 40 |
| 1907 | Chromium (Cr) | 24 |
| 1910 | Vanadium (V) | 23 |
| 1963 | Rhodium (Rh) | 45 |
| 2077 | Boron (B) | 5 |
| 2157 | Technetium (Tc) | 43 |
| 2233 | Hafnium (Hf) | 72 |
| 2333 | Ruthenium (Ru) | 44 |
| 2446 | Iridium (Ir) | 77 |
| 2477 | Niobium (Nb) | 41 |
| 2622 | Molybdenum (Mo) | 42 |
| 3017 | Tantalum (Ta) | 73 |
| 3033 | Osmium (Os) | 76 |
| 3185 | Rhenium (Re) | 75 |
| 3414 | Tungsten (W) | 74 |
* Phosphorus: the listed value is for white phosphorus. Sulfur and phosphorus have different allotropes; an alternative form can have different thermal behaviour.
Special cases outside the ranking
| Element | What to know |
|---|---|
| Helium (He) | No normal melting point at atmospheric pressure. Helium solidifies only under applied pressure at very low temperatures. |
| Carbon (C) | Sublimes at atmospheric pressure. RSC lists approximately 3825 °C for sublimation; this is not an ordinary melting point. Carbon can form a liquid at elevated pressure. |
| Arsenic (As) | Sublimes at atmospheric pressure, at approximately 616 °C in the RSC reference. Its commonly quoted melting temperature near 817 °C refers to elevated pressure. |
Estimates and indicative reference values
These rare radioactive elements are kept outside the main ranking. Treat the values as indicative, rather than as equally well-established measurements of bulk material. The francium entry is an explicit NIST estimate; the other entries are reference values from RSC.
| Element | Reference value (°C) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Astatine (At) | about 300 | Indicative reference value (RSC) |
| Francium (Fr) | about 27 ± 3 | NIST estimate: 300 ± 3 K |
| Fermium (Fm) | about 1527 | Indicative reference value (RSC) |
| Mendelevium (Md) | about 827 | Indicative reference value (RSC) |
| Nobelium (No) | about 827 | Indicative reference value (RSC) |
| Lawrencium (Lr) | about 1627 | Indicative reference value (RSC) |
Elements without an established reference melting point
The RSC reference reports these values as unknown. Predictions may exist, but they are not presented here as measured melting points.
How to use these values
Among elements with ordinary melting transitions, hydrogen lies at the low-temperature end of this comparison. Tungsten has the highest melting point of the metals, approximately 3414 °C. Carbon's sublimation temperature should not be compared as though it were a normal melting point.
For materials selection, check the required grade, purity, pressure and applicable technical data. An elemental melting point alone does not establish a safe operating temperature for a component.
Convert temperatures with the temperature conversion calculator: K = °C + 273.15; °F = (°C × 9/5) + 32.
Sources and data notes
- Royal Society of Chemistry periodic table: principal reference for elemental melting points and the carbon and arsenic sublimation entries.
- NIST Technical Note 2273, Melting Points and Boiling Points for the Alkali Metals: recommended values for lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and caesium, plus the francium estimate. Kelvin values were converted using 273.15.
- RSC Education: helium: solidification under pressure.
Reference values can differ between compilations because of pressure, allotrope, measurement method and temperature scale. This is an educational reference, not a certified materials specification.
Explore other element lists
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