copper

Also known as Cu, element 29, 29Cu, Tatum-T, Paragard T 380A, CU-7

Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement.

OverviewAI-generated

Copper is a metal with the element symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It has a mass of 63.546 and a density of 8.94. The substance is made from materials including cuprite, chrysocolla, dioptase, and enargite. Its melting point is 1981 and its boiling point is 4703. Copper has a thermal conductivity of 413 and an electronegativity of 1.9. It is named after Cyprus.

The element was discovered or invented in 7000 BCE. It is classified as a medication and a small molecule with the IUPAC name copper. It has been approved for indications including bacterial vaginosis, glioblastoma multiforme, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and Alzheimer disease. The first approval occurred in 1982. It is administered via topical routes. The time-weighted average exposure limit is 1, and the immediately dangerous to life or health level is 100.

Synthesized by Vinony from 41 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, PubChem, PubMed, ChEMBL, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula: Cu
Molecular weight: 63.55 g/mol
IUPAC name: copper
SMILES: [Cu]
InChIKey: RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Polar surface area: 0 Å²
H-bond donors: 0
H-bond acceptors: 0
Formal charge: 0

via PubChem

Drug data · ChEMBL

Max clinical phase: Approved
Molecule type: Small molecule
First approval: 1982
Admin. routes: topical
Indications: bacterial vaginosis, glioblastoma multiforme, breast cancer, prostate cancer

via ChEMBL · EBI

Research

185,649 papers

Copper: effects of deficiency and overload.ReviewMetal ions in life sciences · 2013Scheiber I, Dringen R, Mercer JFDOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-7500-8_11
Copper deficiency anemia: review article.ReviewAnnals of hematology · 2018Myint ZW, Oo TH, Thein KZ et al.DOI: 10.1007/s00277-018-3407-5
The molecular mechanism and therapeutic landscape of copper and cuproptosis in cancer.ReviewSignal transduction and targeted therapy · 2025Guo Z, Chen D, Yao L et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41392-025-02192-0
Copper and Diabetes: Current Research and Prospect.ReviewMolecular nutrition & food research · 2023Chang W, Li PDOI: 10.1002/mnfr.202300468
Copper homeostasis and the ubiquitin proteasome system.ReviewMetallomics : integrated biometal science · 2023Zhang B, Burke RDOI: 10.1093/mtomcs/mfad010
Copper.ReviewJournal of toxicology. Clinical toxicology · 1999Barceloux DGDOI: 10.1081/clt-100102421
Copper hypersensitivity.ReviewContact dermatitis · 2014Fage SW, Faurschou A, Thyssen JPDOI: 10.1111/cod.12273
Copper in cancer: friend or foe? Metabolism, dysregulation, and therapeutic opportunities.ReviewCancer communications (London, England) · 2025Shan D, Song J, Ren Y et al.DOI: 10.1002/cac2.70005

via PubMed

~48 min read

Encyclopedic overview

47 sections

Contents

Etymology
Characteristics
Physical
Chemical
Isotopes
Occurrence
Production
Reserves and prices
Copper demand
Extraction<span class="anchor" id="Methods"></span>
Recycling
Environmental impacts
Alloys
Compounds
Binary compounds
Coordination chemistry
Organocopper chemistry
Copper(III) and copper(IV)
Biological role
Biochemistry
Nutrition
Absorption and regulation
Dietary recommendations
Deficiency
Toxicity
Bioleaching
Human exposure
History
Prehistoric
Copper Age
Bronze Age
Ancient and post-classical
Modern
Applications
Wire and cable
Electronics and related devices
Electric motors
Architecture
Antibiofouling
Antimicrobial
Fungicide
Folk medicine
See also
References
Notes
Further reading
External links

Copper is one of the few native metals, meaning metals that occur naturally in a directly usable, unalloyed metallic form. This led to very early human use in several regions, from . Thousands of years later, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, ; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, ; and the first metal to be purposely alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, .

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “copper” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.