Vanadium
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Vanadium , including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure,ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included. Vanadium is highly resistant to corrosion, so it is commonly used to alloy stainless steel grades. Vanadium compounds are used in advanced ceramics. Vanadium is a petrochemical cracking catalyst. Vanadium is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. In honor of its beautiful multi-colored compounds, Vanadium was named after the word "Vanadis" meaning goddess of beauty in Scandinavian mythology. |
Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Vanadium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
Vanadium is a Block D, Group 5, Period 4 element. The number of electrons in each of Vanadium‘s shells is 2, 8, 11, 2 and its electronic configuration is [Ar] 3d3 4s2. In its elemental form vanadium‘s CAS number is 7440-62-2. The vanadium atom has a radius of 131.1.pm and it‘s Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Several vanadium compounds are toxic to some creatures despite the fact that it is an essential trace element.
All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Vanadium compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis.
Vanadium was first discovered in Mexico City by Andres Manuel del Rio, a Spanish born and European educated Mexican mineralogist, in 1801.
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of vanadium and each of its naturally occurringisotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope | Atomic Mass | % Abundance on Earth |
| V-50 | 49.947163 | 0.25 |
| V-51 | 50.943964 | 99.75 |
The following table shows the abundance of Vanadium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
| Typical Human Body | Universe | |
| by Weight | 30 ppb | 1000 ppb |
| by Atom | 4 ppb | 20 ppb |
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for vanadium metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Vanadium compounds, in small quanties, are necessary in the diet of rats and chicks. Deficiencies of Vanadium cause reduced growth and impaired reproduction. Vanadium is also essential to sea squirts.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for vanadium (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it‘s ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
| 1st Ionization Energy | 650.92 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy | 1414.49 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy | 2828.10 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to vanadium‘s electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ?C is 19.68 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.63. The thermal conductivity of vanadium is 30.7 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for vanadium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion | 17.6 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization | 459.7 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization | 510.95 kJ mol-1 |
| Formula | Atomic Number | Molecular Weight | Electronegativity (Pauling) | Density | Melting Point | Boiling Point | Vanderwaals radius | Ionic radius | Energy of first ionization |
| V | 23 | 50.9414 g.mol -1 | 1.6 | 6.1 g.cm-3 at 20 °C | 1910 °C | 3407 °C | 200.pm | 0.074 nm (+3) ; 0.059 (+5) | 650.92 kJ.mol-1 |