What is Vanadium?
Vanadium is a lesser known metal when compared to other chemical elements in the metal group. It is defined by its distinct steel blue color and is used widely in the manufacturing industry, primarily because of its malleability and ductility. Not to mention, it is also resistant to corrosion.
Where is Vanadium obtained?
Vanadium is rare in nature but exists in minerals such as patronite, carnotite, vanadinite, and magnetite. Phosphate rock and crude oil are also present in vanadium. To obtain vanadium, crushed ore is heated together with chlorine and carbon to produce vanadium trichloride.
The end result is heated with magnesium and argon. The majority of the production of vanadium is in China, Russia, and South Africa. Although there are some countries that produce vanadium, but the thing is that the main production source are from the countries mentioned above.
History of Vanadium
It was in 1801 when the first attempt to discover vanadium was made by Andrés Manuel del Río, a Spanish mineralogist. At that time, he named his discovery erythronium, but later on believed that it was impure chromium. In 1830, a Swedish chemist by the name of Nils Gabriel Sefström made another discovery and named it Vanadis in honor of the Scandinavian Goddess of beauty and youth. It was so named so because of the element’s beautiful colors.
Classification, Properties and Characteristics of Vanadium
Vanadium is characterized by its bright white color. Although belonging to the transitional metal group, it is soft and ductile but with exceptional structural strength. It is resistant to alkali, salt water, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid, which is why it is used in many applications. It is not combustible on its own, but can be burned when combined with other elements.
Lewis Dot Structure of Vanadium
Bohr’s Atomic Model of Vanadium
Atomic Data of Vanadium
Physical Properties of Vanadium
| Color | Silvery white/blue-gray metal |
| Odor | Odorless |
| Taste | Tasteless |
| Atomic Mass | 50.942 |
| Weight | 50.9415 |
| Density | 6.0 |
| Atomic Radius | 134 |
| Ionization Energy | 6.746 eV |
| Covalent Radius | 122 |
| Ionic Radius | 59 (+5e) 74 (+3e) |
| Electronic Gain Enthalpy | Unknown |
| Electron Negativity | 1.63 |
| Electron Affinity | 50.6 kJ mol‑1 |
| Melting Point | 1910°C, 3470°F, 2183 K |
| Boiling Point | 3407°C, 6165°F, 3680 K |
Chemical Properties of Vanadium
| Atomic Number | 23 |
| Group | 5 |
| Period | 4 |
| Block | d |
| Electronic Configuration | [Ar] 3d34s2 |
| Combustion | Vanadium itself does not burn |
| Chemical Reactivity | Reactive at high temperature |
| Valency of Element | 4 |
Different States of Vanadium
Vanadium is solid at room temperature and is classified as a transition metal. It has an unusually large number of stable oxidation states. It melts at the right temperature.
What are the common uses of Vanadium?
- Vanadium is used in alloys, particularly in making steel. About 85% of the produced vanadium is used in steel production, while 10% is for making titanium alloys.
- Vanadium steel alloys are mostly used in crankshafts, axles, and gears.
- The combination of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium is used as a component of jet engines and top caliber aircraft.
- Titanium steel is clad with vanadium foil.
- Vanadium compounds, specifically vanadium pentoxide, are used in ceramics as well as in the production of sulfuric acid. It acts as a catalyst.
- Vanadium gallium tape is useful in ultra conducting magnets.
- Vanadium pentoxide acts as a mordant and catalyst in some chemical reactions, such as those in creating ceramics.
- A ferrovanadium alloy is used in producing steel, mainly used for vehicle parts such as car hoods.
- Vanadium is used in nuclear reactors because of its low neutron absorption ability.
- It is used to make dyes, such as aniline black dye, which can be used to dye fabrics like silk, cotton, and proteinaceous fibers. The ink with vanadium is also used as a printing ink.
- It is used as a coloring agent for items like glass and ceramics. It is also the substance used to darken glass and ceramics.
- A vanadium coating is used to coat ceramic to make it heat-resistant.
Price of Vanadium
The price of vanadium is dependent on supply and demand and purity. A commercial vanadium metal (95%) is priced at around $20/lb. Pure vanadium (99.9%) is more expensive. It costs around $100/oz.
Interesting facts about Vanadium
- Don’t you know that the very first industrial use of vanadium metal happened more than a century ago? Steel alloy chassis of the Ford Model T car has vanadium.
- The strength of vanadium caught the attention of Henry Ford, thus the reason why it is primarily used for creating the Ford Model T. It was the very first car created via an assembly line.
- Don’t you know that a large amount of vanadium compound can be toxic? It can cause respiratory-related symptoms.
- Don’t you know that meteorites have a small percentage of vanadium?
- Don’t you know that vanadium compounds are toxic when in their oxidation state?
- Don’t you know that vanadium is paramagnetic, which means that it is aligned with and strengthens the external magnetic field?
- The amount of vanadium in the crust of the Earth is about 50 parts per million.
- Seawater has vanadium and it’s around 0.18 parts per billion.
- Don’t you know that proteins like vanabins have vanadium?
- Don’t you know that the yellow blood produced by sea squirts and sea cucumbers is all because of vanabins, which contain vanadium?
- Don’t you know that vanadium is named after an old Norse goddess? It was named after Vanadis, the goddess associated with beauty and fertility.
- Don’t you know that more than 60 minerals have vanadium?
- The majority of vanadium today originates from South Africa, Russia, and China.
- Don’t you know that vanadium went through other names before it was finally called vanadium? These names are erythronium and panchromium.
- Don’t you know that in many countries around the globe, vanadium is tagged as CRM, or Critical Raw Material?
- Don’t you know that trace amounts of vanadium are present in foods like black pepper, mushrooms, beer, wine, shellfish, dill weed, parsley, and grain.
- Don’t you know that vanadium, along with other elements, is combined to be used as dental implants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the family name of vanadium?
Vanadium belongs to the transition metal family, which belongs to the d-block on the periodic table of elements.
Q2. Is vanadium harmful to humans?
Vanadium isn’t harmful to humans unless exposed in large doses. Traces of vanadium have biological significance, such as being a part of the human diet and bone growth.
Q3. Why is vanadium so special?
Vanadium is a special element in the sense that it has the ability to resist corrosion. For this reason, vanadium is one of the preferred metals to be used as a steel additive.
Q4. What makes vanadium toxic?
Vanadium is not toxic in small quantity. However, it can be very toxic if you are exposed to it in large amount for a long period of time. It usually happened in vanadium processing industrial enterprises. Once it enters the lungs, it can cause lung-related symptoms.
Q5. What countries are the biggest producers of vanadium?
Vanadium is not present in many countries, but, fortunately, there are countries that produce vanadium and these are Russia, China, Brazil, and South Africa.
References
- https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/23/vanadium
- https://www.britannica.com/science/vanadium
- https://www.chemicool.com/elements/vanadium.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium
- https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/v.htm
- https://www.vanadiumcorp.com/news/archived-articles/facts-about-vanadium/
- https://www.livescience.com/29155-vanadium.html
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Vanadium
- https://chemistrytalk.org/vanadium-element/
- https://mineralseducationcoalition.org/elements/vanadium/