Vanadium
Atomic Number: 23
Symbol: V
Atomic Weight: 50.9415
Discovery: Depending who you ask: del Rio 1801 or Nils Gabriel Sefstrom 1830 (Sweden)
Electron Configuration: [Ar] 4s2 3d3
Word Origin: Vanadis, a Scandinavian goddess. Named after the goddess because of vanadium's beautiful multicolored compounds.
Isotopes: There are 11 known isotopes of vanadium, 2 stable and 9 unstable. Natural vanadium is a mixture of the two stable isotopes, vanadium-50 (0.24%) and vanadium-51 (99.76%). Vanadium-50 is slightly radioactive, with a half life exceeding 3.9 x 1017 years.
Properties: Vanadium has a melting point of 1890+/-10°C, boiling point of 3380°C, specific gravity of 6.11 (18.7°C), with a valence of 2, 3, 4, or 5. Pure vanadium is a soft, ductile bright white metal. Vanadium has good corrosion resistance to alkalis, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and saltwater, but it oxidizes readily at temperatures exceeding 660°C. The metal has good structural strength and a low fission neutron cross section. Vanadium and all of its compounds are toxic and should be handled with care.
Uses: Vanadium is used in nuclear applications, for producing rust-resistant spring and high-speed tool steels, and as a carbide stabilizer in making steels. Approximately 80% of the vanadium that is produced is used as a steel additive or ferrovanadium. Vanadium foil is used as a bonding agent for cladding steel with titanium. Vanadium pentoxide is used as a catalyst, as a mordant for dyeing and printing fabrics, in the manufacture of aniline black, and in the ceramics industry. Vanadium-gallium tape is used to produce superconducting magnets.
Sources: Vanadium occurs in approximately 65 minerals, including vanadinite, carnotite, patronite, and roscoelite. It is also found in certain iron ores and phosphate rock and in some crude oils as organic complexes. Vanadium is found in small percentages in meteorites. High purity ductile vanadium may be obtained by reducing vanadium trichloride with magnesium or a magnesium-sodium mixture. Vanadium metal also may be produced by calcium reduction of V2O5 in a pressure vessel.
Element Classification: Transition Metal
Density (g/cc): 6.11
Melting Point (K): 2160
Boiling Point (K): 3650
Appearance: soft, ductile, silvery-white metal
Atomic Radius (pm): 134
Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 8.35
Covalent Radius (pm): 122
Ionic Radius: 59 (+5e) 74 (+3e)
Specific Heat (@20°C J/g mol): 0.485
Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 17.5
Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 460
Debye Temperature (K): 390.00
Pauling Negativity Number: 1.63
First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 650.1
Oxidation States: 5, 4, 3, 2, 0
Lattice Structure: Body-Centered Cubic
Lattice Constant (Å): 3.020
References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics (18th Ed.)
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