History of Vanadium
Vanadium is the chemical element of group 15 of the periodic table elements. The presence of the new element in some Mexican lead ore was first isolated by A del Rio in 1801 who named it erythronium (Greek erythros meaning red). The matter subsided when the mineral was wrongly thought to be basic lead chromate.
In 1830, Sefstrom found the same new element in Swedish iron ore, the element gave the compound a variety of brilliant colors. So he named it Vanadium after the Scandinavian Goddess of beauty, Vanadis.
In 1831, Wohler showed that vanadium and erythronium were the same elements. Berzelius prepared a number of its compounds, the metal was first isolated by Roscoe in 1867 by reduction of VCl2.
Physical Properties and Uses
- Vanadium is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal or chemical element with the symbol V, atomic number 23.
- It is a metal that is rarely found in nature but once isolated artificially and formed of an oxide layer.
- It is a good electrical conductor and an effective thermal insulator.
- Pure metal is soft, malleable, and ductile but impurities make it hard and brittle.
- The melting point and density of vanadium are higher than those of titanium showing additional involvement of d electron in chemical bonding.
- Naturally, occurring vanadium contains one stable isotope, 51V, and one radioactive isotope 50V.
- The chemistry of vanadium is going mostly to four adjacent oxidation states or oxidation number like 2–5.
Uses of Vanadium
Chemical compounds like vanadium pentoxide are commercially important chemical catalysts for producing sulfuric acid and use several types of redox reactions.
Approximately 85 percent of vanadium uses for the production or making of steel.
Vanadium steel is widely used for making axles, bicycle frames, crankshafts, gears, critical components, and high-speed tools. Vanadium is an important chemical catalyst in some organic reactions.