Quick Facts About Vanadium, the Element
Vanadium is a metallic element that is found in several different minerals such as vanadite, carnotite and patronite. This element's name originates from Scandinavia, where it is derived from the name of the Goddess of Beauty. The element was given the name due to the multiple beautiful colors that appear in the chemical compounds of the element. Vanadian has numerous benefits as it is used in many industries.
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Discovery And Isolation
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A Spanish mineralogist named Andres Manuel del Rio discovered Vanadium in 1801, at Mexico City. Later del Rio, due to some unfortunate luck with the delivery of his discovery to the Institute de France, he withdrew his claim. This led to the rediscovery of the element in 1830, when the element was discovered in Sweden by Nils Sefstrom. But it was not until 1867 that vanadium was isolated by Henry Enfield Roscoe.
Appearance and Features
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Vanadium is bright white, a soft ductile metallic element with a cubic crystal structure. It's strength of structure is high, making it a useful element in the production of various metal products.
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Classification
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Transition metals conduct both heat and electricity and are ductile and malleable. Transition metals are located in groups 3 through12 of the periodic table. Vanadium is considered a transition metal because it possesses the needed attributes, and so it is located in group number five of the periodic table.
Properties
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The atomic number of vanadium is 23, and it's atomic weight is 50.9415. The boiling point of this element is 3407°C, and it's melting point is 1910°C. Vanadium is a solid at room temperature (approximately 21.111 °C), and has a density of 6.0 grams per cubic centimeter.
Sources
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The element vanadium is found in approximately 65 minerals, and all of these minerals are important sources of the element. Vanadium can also be found in rare cases within meteorites. More commonly, it is found in phosphate rocks and some iron ore, and certain crude oils contain the element in the form of organic complexes. Petroleum ash is also being studied as a future source of the element.
Uses
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Vanadium is corrosion resistant which contributes to it being used in a multitude of ways. Some of the uses are rust resistant tools, as a carbon stabilizer in some steel and as a bonding agent between steel and titanium. Manufacturing uses include special tubes and pipes for the chemical industry. The nuclear industry uses it because it does not easily absorb neutrons. Vanadium steel alloys and Ferrovanadium are often used in the car industry for axles, gears and crankshafts. It is also used in jet engines, cutting tools and springs. Vanadium pent-oxide is one of vanadium's most useful compounds and is used in fixing dyes to fabrics permanently. This same compound is used in the making of ceramics, and can be combined with gallium to create a superconductive magnet.
Warning
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Vanadium and its compounds are toxic and should be handled with extreme care and caution.
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References
- Photo Credit science image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
