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Oxidation & Electrons | Appearance & Characteristics Reactions | Compounds | Radius | Conductivity Abundance & Isotopes 
Vanadium bars. (Photo: Alchemist-hp ) |
General:
| Name: Vanadium | Symbol: V |
| Type: Transition Metal | Atomic weight: 50.9415 |
| Density @ 293 K: 6.1 g/cm3 | Atomic volume: 8.78 cm3/mol |
| Discovered: Vanadium was discovered by Andreas.M. del Rio in 1801. He prepared salts from the mineral vanadinite (then called brown lead) but did not isolate the pure metal. Metallic vanadium was first isolated by Henry E. Roscoe in 1867, by reducing vanadium chloride (VCl3) with hydrogen. The element is named after 'Vanadis', the Scandinavian goddess of beauty, because the element forms multicolored compounds. | |
States
| State (s, l, g): solid | |
| Melting point: 2193 K (1920 oC) | Boiling point: 3673 K (3400 oC) |
Energies
| Specific heat capacity: 0.49 J g-1 K-1 | Heat of atomization: 514 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of fusion: 20.90 kJ mol-1 | Heat of vaporization : 0.452 kJ mol-1 |
| 1st ionization energy: 650.3 kJ mol-1 | 2nd ionization energy: 1413.5 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd ionization energy: 2828 kJ mol-1 | Electron affinity: 50.7 kJ mol-1 |
Oxidation & Electrons
| Shells: 2,8,11,2 | Electron configuration: [Ar] 3d3 4s2 |
| Minimum oxidation number: -1 | Maximum oxidation number: 5 |
| Min. common oxidation no.: 0 | Max. common oxidation no.: 5 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale): 1.63 | Polarizability volume: 12.4 Å3 |
Appearance & Characteristics
| Structure: bcc: body-centered cubic | Color: bright white |
| Harmful effects:Although vanadium is an essential trace element for some creatures a number of its compounds are toxic. Generally, the higher the oxidation state of vanadium, the more toxic the compound. | Hardness: 7.0 mohs |
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Characteristics: Vanadium is a bright white, soft, ductile metal with good structural strength. Vanadium is resistant to attack by alkalis, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and salt water. The metal oxidizes in air at around 660 oC to the pentoxide (V2O5). Uses: The main use of vanadium is in alloys, especially with steel. A small amount of vanadium adds strength, toughness, and heat resistance. It is usually added in the form of ferrovanadium, a vanadium-iron alloy. Vanadium steel alloys are used in gears, axles and crankshafts. Titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy is used in jet engines and for high-speed aircraft. Vanadium foil is used in cladding titanium to steel. Vanadium-gallium tape is used in superconducting magnets. Vanadium pentoxide is used in ceramics and as a catalyst. |
Reactions
| Reaction with air: mild, w/ht ⇒ V2O5, VN | Reaction with 6 M HCl: none |
| Reaction with 15 M HNO3: mild | Reaction with 6 M NaOH: none |
Compounds
| Oxide(s): VO, V2O3, VO2, V2O5 (vanadium pentoxide) | Chloride(s): VCl2, VCl3, VCl4 |
| Hydride(s): VH, VH2 |
Radius
| Atomic radius: 134 pm | Ionic radius (1+ ion): pm |
| Ionic radius (2+ ion): 93 pm | Ionic radius (3+ ion): 78 pm |
| Ionic radius (2- ion): pm | Ionic radius (1- ion): pm |
Conductivity
| Thermal conductivity: 30.7 W m-1 K-1 | Electrical conductivity: 4 x 10-6 S m-1 |
Abundance & Isotopes
| Abundance earth's crust: 120 parts per million by weight, 50 parts per million by moles | |
| Abundance solar system: 400 parts per billion by weight, 9 parts per billion by moles | |
| Cost, pure: $220 per 100g | |
| Cost, bulk: $ per 100g | |
| Source: Vanadium is not found free in nature but is found combined in about 65 different minerals. Vanadium is also found in bauxite and in fossil fuel deposits. Comercially, production of the metal is by calcium reduction of the pentoxide. | |
| Isotopes: Vanadium has 18 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 43 to 60. Of these, one is stable: 51V. | |
