Group 5 Elements: An Overview

Group 5 elements
An overview
PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information.
PDF generated at: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 04:15:19 UTC
Contents
Articles
Properties 1
Group 5 element 1
Elements 4
Vanadium 4
Niobium 17
Tantalum 30
Dubnium 39
References
Article Sources and Contributors 49
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 50
Article Licenses
License 51
1
Properties
Group 5 element
Group → 5
↓ Period
23
V
5
41
Nb
6
73
Ta
7 105
Db
A Group 5 element is a chemical element in the fifth group in the periodic table. In the modern IUPAC
nomenclature, Group 5 of the periodic table contains vanadium (V), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and dubnium
(Db). This group lies in the d-block of the periodic table. The group itself has not acquired a trivial name; it belongs
to the broader grouping of the transition metals.
The lighter three Group 5 elements occur naturally and do share similar properties; all three are hard refractory
metals under standard conditions. The fourth element, dubnium, has been synthesized in the laboratory, but it hasn't
been found occurring in nature, with half-life of the most stable isotope, dubnium-268, being only 28 hours, and
other isotopes even more radioactive. To date, no experiment in a supercollider was conducted to synthesize the next
member of the group, unpentpentium (Upp). As unpentpentium is a late member of period 8 element it is unlikely
that this element will be synthesized in the near future.
Chemistry
Group 5 element 2
H He
Li Be B C N O F Ne
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
Cs Ba * Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
Fr Ra ** Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo
* La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
** Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
Group 5 in the periodic table
Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in its electron configuration, especially the outermost
shells, though niobium curiously does not follow the trend:
Z Element No. of electrons/shell
23 vanadium 2, 8, 11, 2
41 niobium 2, 8, 18, 12, 1
73 tantalum 2, 8, 18, 32, 11, 2
105 dubnium 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 11, 2
Most of the chemistry has been observed only for the first three members of the group, the chemistry of dubnium is
not very established and therefore the rest of the section deals only with vanadium, niobium, and tantalum. All the
elements of the group are reactive metals with a high melting points (1910 °C, 2477 °C, 3017 °C). The reactivity is
not always obvious due to the rapid formation of a stable oxide layer, which prevents further reactions, similarly to
trends in Group 3 or Group 4. The metals form different oxides: vanadium forms vanadium(II) oxide, vanadium(III)
oxide, vanadium(IV) oxide and vanadium(V) oxide, niobium forms niobium(II) oxide, niobium(IV) oxide and
niobium(V) oxide, but out of tantalum oxides only tantalum(V) oxide is characterized. Metal(V) oxides are generally
nonreactive and act like acids rather than bases, but the lower oxides are less stable. They, however, have some
unusual properties for oxides, such as high electric conductivity.[1]
All three elements form various inorganic compounds, generally in the oxidation state of +5. Lower oxidation states
are also known, but they are less stable, decreasing in stability with atomic mass increase.
History
The discovery of all elements in the group led to controversies. The verification of those discoveries was difficult
due to similarity of vanadium and group 6 element chromium, the chemical similarity of niobium and tantalum and
the complicated setup which was necessary to produce a few atoms of dubnium.
Biological occurrences
Out of the group 5 elements, only vanadium has been identified as playing a role in the biological chemistry of living
systems, but even it plays a very limited role in biology, and is more important in ocean environments than on land.
Vanadium, essential to ascidians and tunicates as vanabins, has been known in the blood cells of Ascidiacea (sea
squirts) since 1911<ref name="henze1911" Henze (1911). Untersuchungen fiber das Blut der Ascidien. 1. Die
Group 5 element 3
Vanadiumbindung der Blutk6rperchen. Z. Physiol. Chem. 72, 494–50.,[2] in concentrations of vanadium in their
blood more than 100 times higher than the concentration of vanadium in the seawater around them. Several species
of macrofungi accumulate vanadium (up to 500 mg/kg in dry weight).[3] Vanadium-dependent bromoperoxidase
generates organobromine compounds in a number of species of marine algae.[4]
Rats and chickens are also known to require vanadium in very small amounts and deficiencies result in reduced
growth and impaired reproduction.[5] Vanadium is a relatively controversial dietary supplement, primarily for
increasing insulin sensitivity[6] and body-building. Vanadyl sulfate may improve glucose control in people with type
2 diabetes.[7] In addition, decavanadate and oxovanadates are species that potentially have many biological activities
and that have been successfully used as tools in the comprehension of several biochemical processes.[8]
References
[1] Holleman, Arnold F.; Wiberg, Egon; Wiberg, Nils; (1985) (in German). Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie (91-100 ed.). Walter de
Gruyter. ISBN 3110075113.
[2] Michibata H, Uyama T, Ueki T, Kanamori K (2002). "Vanadocytes, cells hold the key to resolving the highly selective accumulation and
reduction of vanadium in ascidians". Microscopy Research and Technique 56 (6): 421–434. doi:10.1002/jemt.10042. PMID 11921344.
[3] Kneifel, Helmut; Bayer, Ernst (1997). "Determination of the Structure of the Vanadium Compound, Amavadine, from Fly Agaric".
Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English 12 (6): 508. doi:10.1002/anie.197305081. ISSN 10.1002/anie.197305081.
[4] Butler, Alison; Carter-Franklin, Jayme N. (2004). "The role of vanadium bromoperoxidase in the biosynthesis of halogenated marine natural
products". Natural Product Reports 21 (1): 180–8. doi:10.1039/b302337k. PMID 15039842.
[5] Schwarz, Klaus; Milne, David B. (1971). "Growth Effects of Vanadium in the Rat". Science 174 (4007): 426–428.
Bibcode 1971Sci...174..426S. doi:10.1126/science.174.4007.426. JSTOR 1731776. PMID 5112000.
[6] Yeh, Gloria Y.; Eisenberg, David M.; Kaptchuk, Ted J.; Phillips, Russell S. (2003). "Systematic Review of Herbs and Dietary Supplements
for Glycemic Control in Diabetes" (http:/ / care. diabetesjournals. org/ cgi/ content/ full/ 26/ 4/ 1277). Diabetes Care 26 (4): 1277–1294.
doi:10.2337/diacare.26.4.1277. PMID 12663610. .
[7] Badmaev, V.; Prakash, Subbalakshmi; Majeed, Muhammed (1999). "Vanadium: a review of its potential role in the fight against diabetes".
Altern Complement Med. 5 (3): 273–291. doi:10.1089/acm.1999.5.273. PMID 10381252.
[8] Aureliano, Manuel; Crans, Debbie C. (2009). "Decavanadate and oxovanadates: Oxometalates with many biological activities". Journal
Inorganic Biochemistry 103: 536–546. doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2008.11010.
4
Elements
Vanadium
Vanadium
Appearance
blue-silver-grey metal
General properties
Name, symbol, number vanadium, V, 23
Pronunciation /vəˈneɪdiəm/
və-nay-dee-əm
Element category transition metal
Group, period, block 5, 4, d
Standard atomic weight 50.9415(1) g·mol

−1
Electron configuration [Ar] 3d 4s

3 2
Electrons per shell 2, 8, 11, 2 (Image)
Physical properties
Phase solid
Density (near r.t.) 6.0 g·cm−3
Liquid density at m.p. 5.5 g·cm−3
Melting point 2183 K,1910 °C,3470 °F
Boiling point 3680 K,3407 °C,6165 °F
Heat of fusion 21.5 kJ·mol−1
Heat of vaporization 459 kJ·mol−1
Specific heat capacity (25 °C) 24.89 J·mol−1·K−1
Vapor pressure
P/Pa 1 10 100 1k 10 k 100 k
at T/K 2101 2289 2523 2814 3187 3679

Vanadium 5
Atomic properties
Oxidation states 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, -1
(amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity 1.63 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies 1st: 650.9 kJ·mol−1

(more)
2nd: 1414 kJ·mol−1
3rd: 2830 kJ·mol−1
Atomic radius 134 pm
Covalent radius 153±8 pm
Miscellanea
Crystal structure body-centered cubic
Magnetic ordering paramagnetic
Electrical resistivity (20 °C) 197 nΩ·m
Thermal conductivity (300 K) 30.7 W·m ·K

−1 −1
Thermal expansion (25 °C) 8.4 µm·m ·K

−1 −1
Speed of sound (thin rod) (20 °C) 4560 m/s
Young's modulus 128 GPa
Shear modulus 47 GPa
Bulk modulus 160 GPa
Poisson ratio 0.37
Mohs hardness 6.7
CAS registry number 7440-62-2
Most stable isotopes
iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP

48
V syn 15.9735 d ε+β+ 4.0123 48
Ti
49
V syn 330 d ε 0.6019 49
Ti
50
V 0.25% 1.5×1017y ε 2.2083 50
Ti
β− 1.0369 50
Cr
51
V 99.75% 51
V is stable with 28 neutron
Vanadium ( /vəˈneɪdiəm/ və-nay-dee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is
a hard, silvery gray, ductile and malleable transition metal. The formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the metal
against oxidation. The element is found only in chemically combined form in nature. Andrés Manuel del Río
discovered vanadium in 1801 by analyzing a new lead-bearing mineral he called "brown lead," and named the new
element erythronium (Greek for "red") since, upon heating, most of its salts turned from their initial color to red.
Four years later, however, he was convinced by other scientists that erythronium was identical to chromium. The
element was rediscovered in 1831 by Nils Gabriel Sefström, who named it vanadium after the Germanic goddess of
beauty and fertility, Vanadís (Freyja). Both names were attributed to the wide range of colors found in vanadium
Vanadium 6
compounds. Del Rio's lead mineral was later renamed vanadinite for its vanadium content.
The element occurs naturally in about 65 different minerals and in fossil fuel deposits. It is produced in China and
Russia from steel smelter slag; other countries produce it either from the flue dust of heavy oil, or as a byproduct of
uranium mining. It is mainly used to produce specialty steel alloys such as high speed tool steels. The most important
industrial vanadium compound, vanadium pentoxide, is used as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid.
Large amounts of vanadium ions are found in a few organisms, possibly as a toxin. The oxide and some other salts of
vanadium have moderate toxicity. Particularly in the ocean, vanadium is used by some life forms as an active center
of enzymes, such as the vanadium bromoperoxidase of some ocean algae. Vanadium is probably a micronutrient in
mammals, including humans, but its precise role in this regard is unknown.
History
Vanadium was originally discovered by Andrés Manuel del Río, a Spanish-born Mexican mineralogist, in 1801. Del
Río extracted the element from a sample of Mexican "brown lead" ore, later named vanadinite. He found that its salts
exhibit a wide variety of colors, and as a result he named the element panchromium (Greek: παγχρώμιο "all
colors"). Later, Del Río renamed the element erythronium (Greek: ερυθρός "red") as most of its salts turned red
upon heating. In 1805, the French chemist Hippolyte Victor Collet-Descotils, backed by del Río's friend Baron
Alexander von Humboldt, incorrectly declared that del Río's new element was only an impure sample of chromium.
Del Río accepted the Collet-Descotils' statement and retracted his claim.[1]
In 1831, the Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström rediscovered the element in a new oxide he found while
working with iron ores. Later that same year, Friedrich Wöhler confirmed del Río's earlier work.[2] Sefström chose a
name beginning with V, which had not been assigned to any element yet. He called the element vanadium after Old
Norse Vanadís (another name for the Norse Vanr goddess Freyja, whose facets include connections to beauty and
fertility), because of the many beautifully colored chemical compounds it produces.[2] In 1831, the geologist George
William Featherstonhaugh suggested that vanadium should be renamed "rionium" after del Río, but this suggestion
was not followed.[3]
The isolation of vanadium metal proved difficult. In 1831, Berzelius
reported the production of the metal, but Henry Enfield Roscoe showed
that Berzelius had in fact produced the nitride, vanadium nitride (VN).
Roscoe eventually produced the metal in 1867 by reduction of
vanadium(II) chloride, VCl2, with hydrogen.[4] In 1927, pure vanadium
was produced by reducing vanadium pentoxide with calcium.[5] The
first large scale industrial use of vanadium in steels was found in the
chassis of the Ford Model T, inspired by French race cars. Vanadium
steel allowed for reduced weight while simultaneously increasing
The Model T made use of vanadium steel in its tensile strength.[6]
chassis.
Creation
The stable form of vanadium is created in supernovas via the r-process.[7]
Vanadium 7
Characteristics
Vanadium is a hard, ductile, silver-gray metal. Some sources describe vanadium as "soft", perhaps because it is
ductile, malleable and not brittle.[8] [9] Vanadium is harder than most metals and steels (see Hardnesses of the
elements (data page) and iron). It has good resistance to corrosion and it is stable against alkalis, sulfuric and
hydrochloric acids.[10] It is oxidized in air at about 933 K (660 °C, 1220 °F), although an oxide layer forms even at
room temperature.
Isotopes
Naturally occurring vanadium is composed of one stable isotope 51V and one radioactive isotope 50V. The latter has
a half-life of 1.5×1017 years and a natural abundance 0.25%. 51V has a nuclear spin of 7/2 which is useful for NMR
spectroscopy.[11] A number of 24 artificial radioisotopes have been characterized, ranging in mass number from 40
to 65. The most stable of these isotopes are 49V with a half-life of 330 days, and 48V with a half-life of 16.0 days. All
of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives shorter than an hour, most of which are below 10 seconds. At
least 4 isotopes have metastable excited states.[11] Electron capture is the main decay mode for isotopes lighter than
the 51V. For the heavier ones, the most common mode is beta decay. The electron capture reactions lead to the
formation of element 22 (titanium) isotopes, while for beta decay, it leads to element 24 (chromium) isotopes.
Chemistry and compounds

The chemistry of vanadium is noteworthy for the accessibility of the four
adjacent oxidation states 2-5. In aqueous solution the colours are lilac V2+(aq),
green V3+(aq), blue VO2+(aq) and, at high pH, yellow VO42-. Vanadium(II)
compounds are reducing agents, and vanadium(V) compounds are oxidizing
agents. Vanadium(IV) compounds often exist as vanadyl derivatives which
contain the VO2+ center.[10]
Ammonium vanadate(V) (NH4VO3) can be successively reduced with elemental

zinc to obtain the different colors of vanadium in these four oxidation states.
Lower oxidation states occur in compounds such as V(CO)6, [V(CO)6]− and
substituted derivatives.[10]
The vanadium redox battery utilizes all four oxidation states; one electrode uses
the +5/+4 couple and the other uses the +3/+2 couple. Conversion of these
Oxidation states of vanadium, from oxidation states is illustrated by the reduction of a strongly acidic solution of a
left +2 (lilac), +3 (green), +4 (blue) vanadium(V) compound with zinc dust. The initial red color characteristic of the
and +5 (yellow).
polyvanadates such as [H2V10O28]4-, are replaced by the blue color of
[VO(H2O)5]2+, followed by the green color of [V(H2O)6]3+ and then violet, due
to [V(H2O)6]2+.[10]
The most commercially important compound is vanadium pentoxide, which is used as a catalyst for the production
of sulfuric acid.[10] This compound oxidizes sulfur dioxide (SO2) to the trioxide (SO3). In this redox reaction, sulfur
is oxidized from +4 to +6, and vanadium is reduced from +5 to +3:
V2O5 + 2 SO2 → V2O3 + 2 SO3
The catalyst is regenerated by oxidation with air:
V2O3 + O2 → V2O5
Vanadium 8
Oxy-anions and cations
The oxyanion chemistry of vanadium(V) is complex: the

predominance diagram for vanadates in aqueous solution shows at least
11 species to be predominant under specified conditions of pH and
concentration.[12] The tetrahedral vanadate ion, VO43−, is the principal
species present at pH 12-14. On acidification, the monomer [HVO4]2-
and dimer [V2O7]- are formed, with the monomer predominant at
vanadium concentration of less than ca. 10-2M (pV > 2; pV is equal to
minus the logarithm of the total vanadium concentration/M). The
formation of the divanadate ion is analogous to the formation of the
dichromate ion. As the pH is reduced, further protonation and the decavanadate structure
-
polymerization to polyvanadates occur: at pH 4-6 [H2VO4] is
predominant at pV greater than ca. 4, while at higher concentrations trimers and tetramers are formed. Between pH
2-4 decavanadates predominate. In decavanadates there is a distorted octahedron of oxygen atoms around each
vanadium atom.[10] Vanadic acid, H3VO4 has a very low concentration because protonation of the tetrahedral species
[H2VO4]- results in the preferential formation of the octahedral [VO2(H2O4)]+ species. In strongly acidic solutions,
pH<2. [VO2(H2O4)]+ is the predominant species, while the oxide V2O5 precipitates from solution at high
concentrations. The oxide is formally the inorganic anhydride of vanadic acid. The structures of many of these and
other vanadate ions have been determined by X-ray crystallography of crystalline compounds.
The acid dissociation constants for the vanadium and phosphorus series are remarkably similar. Chains, rings and
clusters involving tetrahedral vanadium, analogous to the polyphosphates, are known. The correspondence between
vanadate and phosphate chemistry can be attributed to the similarity in size and charge of phosphorus(V) and
vanadium(V). Orthovanadate VO43− is used in protein crystallography[13] to study the biochemistry of
phosphate.[14]
The Pourbaix diagram for vanadium in water, which shows the redox
potentials between various vanadium species in different oxidation
states is also complex.[15]
Vanadium(V) also forms various peroxo-complexes. The species
VO(O)2(H2O)4+ is present in acidic solutions. In alkaline solutions
species with 2, 3 and 4 peroxide groups are present; the last forms
violet crystals M3V(O2)4 nH2O (M=Li, Na, K, NH4+), in which the
vanadium has an 8-coordinate dodecahedral structure. [16] [17] .
Chalcogenide and halide compounds
Vanadium forms a very large variety of binary compounds with sulfur,

The Pourbaix diagram for vanadium in waterselenium and tellurium, often with complicated structures. The
tetrahedral sulfa-anion [VS4]3-, analogous to the orthovanadate ion, is
well-known, but there are no thio-analogues of the polymeric oxo-vanadates.[18]
All four halides are known for oxidation states +2 and +3, but the iodide is not known for V(IV) and VF5 is the only
halide known for oxidation state 5. VCl4 may be used as a catalyst for polymerization of dienes.
Examples of oxyhalides include.[19]
• vanadium(V): VOF3, VOX3 and VO2X (X=F, Cl)
• vanadium(IV): VOX2 (X=F, Cl, Br)
• vanadium(III): VOX, (X=Cl,Br)
Vanadium 9
Coordination compounds
Vanadium's early position in the transition metal series lead to three

rather unusual features of the coordination chemistry of vanadium.
Firstly, metallic vanadium has the electronic configuration [Ar]3d34s2,
so compounds of vanadium are relatively electron-poor. Consequently,
most binary compounds are Lewis acids (electron pair acceptors);
examples are all the halides forming octahedral adducts with the
formula VXnL6−n (X = halide; L = other ligand). Secondly, the
vanadium ion is rather large and can achieve coordination numbers
higher than 6, as is the case in [V(CN)7]4−. Thirdly, the vanadyl ion, A ball-and-stick model of VO(acac)2
2+
VO , is featured in many complexes of vanadium(IV) such as vanadyl
acetylacetonate (V(=O)(acac)2). In this complex, the vanadium is 5-coordinate, square pyramidal, meaning that a
sixth ligand, such as pyridine, may be attached, though the association constant of this process is small. Many
5-coordinate vanadyl complexes have a trigonal bypyramidal geometry, such as VOCl2(NMe3)2.[20]
Organometallic compounds
Organometallic chemistry of vanadium is well developed, but organometallic compounds are of minor commercial
significance. Vanadocene dichloride is a versatile starting reagent and even finds minor applications in organic
chemistry.[21] Vanadium carbonyl, V(CO)6, is a rare example of a metal carbonyl containing an unpaired electron,
but which exists without dimerization. The addition of an electron yields V(CO)6− (isoelectronic with Cr(CO)6),
which may be further reduced with sodium in liquid ammonia to yield V(CO)63− (isoelectronic with Fe(CO)5).[22]
[23]
Occurrence
Metallic vanadium is not found in nature, but is known to exist in
about 65 different minerals. Economically significant examples include
patronite (VS4),[24] vanadinite (Pb5(VO4)3Cl), and carnotite
(K2(UO2)2(VO4)2·3H2O). Much of the world's vanadium production is
sourced from vanadium-bearing magnetite found in ultramafic gabbro
bodies. Vanadium is mined mostly in South Africa, north-western
China, and eastern Russia. In 2010 these three countries mined more
than 98% of the 56,000 tonnes of produced vanadium.[25]
Vanadinite
Vanadium is also present in bauxite and in fossil fuel deposits such as
crude oil, coal, oil shale and tar sands. In crude oil, concentrations up to 1200 ppm have been reported. When such
oil products are burned, the traces of vanadium may initiate corrosion in motors and boilers.[26] An estimated
110,000 tonnes of vanadium per year are released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.[27] Vanadium has also
been detected spectroscopically in light from the Sun and some other stars.[28]
Vanadium 10
Production
Most vanadium is used as an alloy called ferrovanadium as an additive
to improve steels. Ferrovanadium is produced directly by reducing a
mixture of vanadium oxide, iron oxides and iron in an electric furnace.
Vanadium-bearing magnetite iron ore is the main source for the
production of vanadium.[29] The vanadium ends up in pig iron
produced from vanadium bearing magnetite. During steel production,
oxygen is blown into the pig iron, oxidizing the carbon and most of the Ferrovanadium chunks
other impurities, forming slag. Depending on the used ore, the slag
contains up to 25% of vanadium.[29]
Vanadium metal is obtained via a multistep process that begins with

the roasting of crushed ore with NaCl or Na2CO3 at about 850 °C to
give sodium metavanadate (NaVO3). An aqueous extract of this solid
is acidified to give "red cake", a polyvanadate salt, which is reduced
with calcium metal. As an alternative for small scale production, Electrolytically refined vanadium dendritic
vanadium pentoxide is reduced with hydrogen or magnesium. Many crystals (99,9%)
other methods are also in use, in all of which vanadium is produced as
a byproduct of other processes.[29] Purification of vanadium is possible
by the crystal bar process developed by Anton Eduard van Arkel and
Jan Hendrik de Boer in 1925. It involves the formation of the metal
iodide, in this example vanadium(III) iodide, and the subsequent
decomposition to yield pure metal.[30]
2 V + 3 I2 2 VI3
Iodide refined vanadium
Applications
Alloys
Approximately 85% of vanadium produced is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel
additive.[29] The considerable increase of strength in steel containing small
amounts of vanadium was discovered in the beginning of the 20th century.
Vanadium forms stable nitrides and carbides, resulting in a significant increase in
the strength of the steel.[31] From that time on vanadium steel was used for
applications in axles, bicycle frames, crankshafts, gears, and other critical
components. There are two groups of vanadium containing steel alloy groups.
Tool made from vanadium steel Vanadium high-carbon steel alloys contain 0.15% to 0.25% vanadium and high
speed tool steels (HSS) have a vanadium content of 1% to 5%. For high speed
tool steels, a hardness above HRC 60 can be achieved. HSS steel is used in surgical instruments and tools.[32]
Vanadium 11
Vanadium stabilizes the beta form of titanium and increases the

strength and temperature stability of titanium. Mixed with aluminium
in titanium alloys it is used in jet engines and high-speed airframes.
One of the common alloys is Titanium 6AL-4V, a titanium alloy with
6% aluminium and 4% vanadium.[33]
Highpure (99.95%) vanadium cuboids, ebeam

remelted and macro etched
Other uses
Vanadium is compatible with iron and titanium, therefore vanadium foil is used
in cladding titanium to steel.[34] The moderate thermal neutron-capture
cross-section and the short half-life of the isotopes produced by neutron capture
makes vanadium a suitable material for the inner structure of a fusion reactor.[35]
[36]
Several vanadium alloys show superconducting behavior. The first A15
phase superconductor was a vanadium compound, V3Si, which was discovered in
1952.[37] Vanadium-gallium tape is used in superconducting magnets (17.5 teslas
or 175,000 gauss). The structure of the superconducting A15 phase of V3Ga is
similar to that of the more common Nb3Sn and Nb3Ti.[38]
Vanadium(V) oxide is a catalyst in
The most common oxide of vanadium, vanadium pentoxide V2O5, is used as a the contact process for producing
[39]
catalyst in manufacturing sulfuric acid by the contact process and as an sulfuric acid
[40]
oxidizer in maleic anhydride production. Vanadium pentoxide is also used in
[41]
making ceramics. Another oxide of vanadium, vanadium dioxide VO2, is used in the production of glass coatings,
which blocks infrared radiation (and not visible light) at a specific temperature.[42] Vanadium oxide can be used to
induce color centers in corundum to create simulated alexandrite jewelry, although alexandrite in nature is a
chrysoberyl.[43] The possibility to use vanadium redox couples in both half-cells, thereby eliminating the problem of
cross contamination by diffusion of ions across the membrane is the advantage of vanadium redox rechargeable
batteries.[44] Vanadate can be used for protecting steel against rust and corrosion by electrochemical conversion
coating.[45] Lithium vanadium oxide has been proposed for use as a high energy density anode for lithium ion
batteries, at 745 Wh/L when paired with a lithium cobalt oxide cathode.[46] It has been proposed by some researchers
that a small amount, 40 to 270 ppm, of vanadium in Wootz steel and Damascus steel, significantly improves the
strength of the material, although it is unclear what the source of the vanadium was.[47]
Vanadium 12
Biological role
Vanadium plays a very limited role in biology, and is more important in ocean environments than on land.
Bromoperoxidases in algae
Organobromine compounds in a number of species of marine algae are
generated by the action of a vanadium dependent bromoperoxidase.
This is a haloperoxidase in algae which requires bromide and is an
absolutely vanadium-dependent enzyme. Most organobromine
compounds in the sea ultimately arise via the action of this vanadium
bromoperoxidase.[48]
Vanadium accumulation in tunicates and ascidians Ascidiacea (sea squirts) contain vanadium as
vanabin.
German chemist Martin Henze discovered vanadium in the blood cells
(or coelomic cells) of Ascidiacea (sea squirts) in 1911.[49] [50] It is
essential to ascidians and tunicates, where it is stored in the highly
acidified vacuoles of certain blood cell types, designated vanadocytes.
Vanabins (vanadium binding proteins) have been identified in the
cytoplasm of such cells. The concentration of vanadium in their blood
is up to 10 million times higher than the concentration of vanadium in
the seawater around them. Vanadium has been reported in high
concentrations in holothurian (sea cucumber) blood,[51] however other
researchers have been unable to reproduce these results.[52] There is no
evidence that hemovanadin carries oxygen, in contrast to hemoglobin
and hemocyanin, which may also be present in these organisms.[53] Tunicates such as this bluebell tunicate contain
vanadium as vanabin.
Nitrogen fixation
A vanadium nitrogenase is used by some nitrogen-fixing
micro-organisms, such as Azotobacter. In this role vanadium replaces
more common molybdenum or iron, and gives the nitrogenase slightly
different properties.[54]
Fungi
Several species of macrofungi, namely Amanita muscaria and related
species, accumulate vanadium (up to 500 mg/kg in dry weight).
Amanita muscaria contains amavadin.
Vanadium is present in the coordination complex, amavadin,[55] in
fungal fruit-bodies. However, the biological importance of the
accumulation process is unknown.[56] [57] Toxin functions or peroxidase enzyme functions have been suggested.
Mammals and birds

Rats and chickens are also known to require vanadium in very small amounts and deficiencies result in reduced
growth and impaired reproduction.[58] Vanadium is a relatively controversial dietary supplement, primarily for
increasing insulin sensitivity[59] and body-building. Whether it works for the latter purpose has not been proven, and
Vanadium 13
there is some evidence that athletes who take it are merely experiencing a placebo effect.[60] Vanadyl sulfate may
improve glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes.[61] [62] [63] [64] [65] In addition, decavanadate and
oxovanadates are species that potentially have many biological activities and that have been successfully used as
tools in the comprehension of several biochemical processes.[66]
Safety
All vanadium compounds should be considered toxic. Tetravalent VOSO4 has been reported to be over 5 times more
toxic than trivalent V2O3.[67] The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set an exposure limit
of 0.05 mg/m3 for vanadium pentoxide dust and 0.1 mg/m3 for vanadium pentoxide fumes in workplace air for an
8-hour workday, 40-hour work week.[68] The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has
recommended that 35 mg/m3 of vanadium be considered immediately dangerous to life and health. This is the
exposure level of a chemical that is likely to cause permanent health problems or death.[68]
Vanadium compounds are poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal system. Inhalation exposures to vanadium
and vanadium compounds result primarily in adverse effects on the respiratory system.[69] [70] [71] Quantitative data
are, however, insufficient to derive a subchronic or chronic inhalation reference dose. Other effects have been
reported after oral or inhalation exposures on blood parameters,[72] [73] on liver,[74] on neurological development in
rats,[75] and other organs.[76]
There is little evidence that vanadium or vanadium compounds are reproductive toxins or teratogens. Vanadium
pentoxide was reported to be carcinogenic in male rats and male and female mice by inhalation in an NTP study,[70]
although the interpretation of the results has recently been disputed.[77] Vanadium has not been classified as to
carcinogenicity by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[78]
Vanadium traces in diesel fuels present a corrosion hazard; it is the main fuel component influencing high
temperature corrosion. During combustion, it oxidizes and reacts with sodium and sulfur, yielding vanadate
compounds with melting points down to 530 °C, which attack the passivation layer on steel, rendering it susceptible
to corrosion. The solid vanadium compounds also cause abrasion of engine components.
References
[1] Cintas, Pedro (2004). "The Road to Chemical Names and Eponyms: Discovery, Priority, and Credit". Angewandte Chemie International
Edition 43 (44): 5888. doi:10.1002/anie.200330074. PMID 15376297.
[2] Sefström, N. G. (1831). "Ueber das Vanadin, ein neues Metall, gefunden im Stangeneisen von Eckersholm, einer Eisenhütte, die ihr Erz von
Taberg in Småland bezieht". Annalen der Physik und Chemie 97: 43. Bibcode 1831AnP....97...43S. doi:10.1002/andp.18310970103.
[3] Featherstonhaugh, George William (1831). The Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural Science: 69.
[4] Roscoe, Henry E. (1869–1870). "Researches on Vanadium. Part II.". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 18: 37.
doi:10.1098/rspl.1869.0012.
[5] Marden, J. W.; Rich, M. N. (1927). "Vanadium". Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 19: 786. doi:10.1021/ie50211a012.
[6] Betz, Frederick (2003). Managing Technological Innovation: Competitive Advantage from Change (http:/ / books. google. com/
?id=KnpGtu-R77UC& pg=PA158). Wiley-IEEE. pp. 158–159. ISBN 0471225630. .
[7] A.G.W. Cameron (June 1957). "Stellar Evolution, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Nucleogenesis" (http:/ / www. fas. org/ sgp/ eprint/ CRL-41.
pdf). CRL-41. .
[8] George F. Vander Voort (1984). Metallography, principles and practice (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=GRQC8zYqtBIC&
pg=PA137). ASM International. pp. 137–. ISBN 978-0-87170-672-0. . Retrieved 17 September 2011.
[9] François Cardarelli (2008). Materials handbook: a concise desktop reference (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=PvU-qbQJq7IC&
pg=PA338). Springer. pp. 338–. ISBN 978-1-84628-668-1. . Retrieved 17 September 2011.
[10] Holleman, Arnold F.; Wiberg, Egon; Wiberg, Nils; (1985). "Vanadium" (in German). Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie (91–100 ed.).
Walter de Gruyter. pp. 1071–1075. ISBN 3110075113.
[11] Georges, Audi (2003). "The NUBASE Evaluation of Nuclear and Decay Properties". Nuclear Physics A (Atomic Mass Data Center) 729:
3–128. Bibcode 2003NuPhA.729....3A. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001.
[12] Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0080379419.
p. 984
Vanadium 14
[13] Sinning, Irmgard; Hol, Wim G.J. (2004). "The power of vanadate in crystallographic investigations of phosphoryl transfer enzymes". FEBS
letters 577 (3): 315. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2004.10.022. PMID 15556602.
[14] Seargeant, Lorne E.; Stinson, Robert A. (1979). "Inhibition of Human Alkaline Phosphatases by Vanadate". Biochemical Journal 181 (1):
247. PMC 1161148. PMID 486156.
[15] Al-Kharafi, F. M.; Badawy, W. A. (1997). "Electrochemical behavior of vanadium in aqueous solutions of different pH". Electrochimica
Acta 42: 579. doi:10.1016/S0013-4686(96)00202-2.
[16] Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
ISBN 0080379419., p994.
[17] Strukul, Giorgio (1992). Catalytic oxidations with hydrogen peroxide as oxidant (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=Lmt3x9CyfLgC&
pg=PA128). Springer. p. 128. ISBN 0792317718. .
p.988
p.993
p. 996
[21] Wilkinson, G. and Birmingham, J.G. (1954). "Bis-cyclopentadienyl Compounds of Ti, Zr, V, Nb and Ta". Journal of the American
Chemical Society 76: 4281. doi:10.1021/ja01646a008.
[22] Bellard, S.; Rubinson, K. A.; Sheldrick, G. M. (1979). "Crystal and molecular structure of vanadium hexacarbonyl". Acta Crystallographica
B35: 271. doi:10.1107/S0567740879003332.
[23] Elschenbroich, C.; Salzer A. (1992). Organometallics : A Concise Introduction. Wiley-VCH. ISBN 3527281657.
[24] "mineralogical data about Patrónite" (http:/ / www. mindat. org/ min-3131. html). mindata.org. . Retrieved 2009-01-19.
[25] Magyar, Michael J.. "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2011: Vanadium" (http:/ / minerals. usgs. gov/ minerals/ pubs/ commodity/ vanadium/
mcs-2011-vanad. pdf). United States Geological Survey. . Retrieved 2011-01-15.
[26] Pearson, C. D.; Green J. B. (1993). "Vanadium and nickel complexes in petroleum resid acid, base, and neutral fractions". Energy Fuels 7:
338. doi:10.1021/ef00039a001.
[27] Anke, Manfred (2004). "Vanadium – An element both essential and toxic to plants, animals and humans?". Anal. Real Acad. Nac. Farm. 70:
961.
[28] Cowley, C. R.; Elste, G. H.; Urbanski, J. L. (1978). "Vanadium abundances in early A stars". Astronomical Society of the Pacific 90: 536.
Bibcode 1978PASP...90..536C. doi:10.1086/130379.
[29] Moskalyk, R. R.; Alfantazi, A. M. (2003). "Processing of vanadium: a review". Minerals Engineering 16: 793.
doi:10.1016/S0892-6875(03)00213-9.
[30] Carlson, O. N.; Owen, C. V. (1961). "Preparation of High-Purity Vanadium Metals by the Iodide Refining Process". Journal of the
Electrochemical Society 108: 88. doi:10.1149/1.2428019.
[31] Chandler, Harry (1998). Metallurgy for the Non-metallurgist (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=arupok8PTBEC). ASM International.
pp. 6–7. ISBN 9780871706522. .
[32] Davis, Joseph R. (1995). Tool Materials: Tool Materials (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=Kws7x68r_aUC& pg=PA11). ASM International.
ISBN 9780871705457. .
[33] Peters, Manfred; Leyens, C. (2002). "Metastabile β-Legierungen" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=sxdR882jQpYC& pg=PA23). Titan und
Titanlegierungen. Wiley-VCH. pp. 23–24. ISBN 9783527305391. .
[34] Lositskii, N. T.; Grigor'ev A. A.; Khitrova, G. V. (1966). "Welding of chemical equipment made from two-layer sheet with titanium
protective layer (review of foreign literature)". Chemical and Petroleum Engineering 2 (12): 854–856. doi:10.1007/BF01146317.
[35] Matsui, H.; Fukumoto, K.; Smith, D. L.; Chung, Hee M.; Witzenburg, W. van; Votinov, S. N. (1996). "Status of vanadium alloys for fusion
reactors". Journal of Nuclear Materials 233–237 (1): 92–99. Bibcode 1996JNuM..233...92M. doi:10.1016/S0022-3115(96)00331-5.
[36] "Vanadium Data Sheet" (http:/ / www. wahchang. com/ pages/ products/ data/ pdf/ Vanadium. pdf). Allegheny Technologies – Wah Chang.
. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
[37] Hardy, George F.; Hulm, John K. (1953). "Superconducting Silicides and Germanides". Physical Reviews 89: 884–884.
Bibcode 1953PhRv...89Q.884H. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.89.884.
[38] Markiewicz, W.; Mains, E.; Vankeuren, R.; Wilcox, R.; Rosner, C.; Inoue, H.; Hayashi, C.; Tachikawa, K. (1977). "A 17.5 Tesla
superconducting concentric Nb3Sn and V3Ga magnet system". IEEE Transactions on Magnetics 13 (1): 35–37. Bibcode 1977ITM....13...35M.
doi:10.1109/TMAG.1977.1059431.
[39] Eriksen, K. M.; Karydis, D. A.; Boghosian, S.; Fehrmann, R. (1995). "Deactivation and Compound Formation in Sulfuric-Acid Catalysts
and Model Systems". Journal of Catalysis 155 (1): 32–42. doi:10.1006/jcat.1995.1185.
[40] Abon, Michel; Volta, Jean-Claude (1997). "Vanadium phosphorus oxides for n-butane oxidation to maleic anhydride". Applied Catalysis A:
General 157 (1–2): 173–193. doi:10.1016/S0926-860X(97)00016-1.
[41] Lide, David R. (2004). "vanadium". CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp. 4–34. ISBN 9780849304859.
[42] Manning, Troy D.; Parkin,Ivan P.; Clark, Robin J. H.; Sheel, David; Pemble, Martyn E.; Vernadou, Dimitra (2002). "Intelligent window
coatings: atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition of vanadium oxides". Journal of Materials Chemistry 12: 2936–2939.
doi:10.1039/b205427m.
Vanadium 15
[43] White, Willam B.; Roy, Rustum; McKay, Chrichton (1962). "The Alexandrite Effect: And Optical Study" (http:/ / www. minsocam. org/
ammin/ AM52/ AM52_867. pdf). American Mineralogist 52: 867–871. .
[44] Joerissen, Ludwig; Garche, Juergen; Fabjan, Ch.; Tomazic G. (2004). "Possible use of vanadium redox-flow batteries for energy storage in
small grids and stand-alone photovoltaic systems". Journal of Power Sources 127 (1–2): 98–104. doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2003.09.066.
[45] Guan, H.; Buchheit R. G. (2004). "Corrosion Protection of Aluminum Alloy 2024-T3 by Vanadate Conversion Coatings". Corrosion 60 (3):
284–296. doi:10.5006/1.3287733.
[46] Kariatsumari, Koji (February 2008). "Li-Ion Rechargeable Batteries Made Safer" (http:/ / techon. nikkeibp. co. jp/ article/ HONSHI/
20080129/ 146549/ ). Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.. . Retrieved 10-12-2008.
[47] Verhoeven, J. D.; Pendray, A. H.; Dauksch, W. E. (1998). "The key role of impurities in ancient damascus steel blades". Journal of the
Minerals, Metals and Materials Society 50 (9): 58–64. Bibcode 1998JOM....50i..58V. doi:10.1007/s11837-998-0419-y.
[48] Butler, Alison; Carter-Franklin, Jayme N. (2004). "The role of vanadium bromoperoxidase in the biosynthesis of halogenated marine natural
products". Natural Product Reports 21 (1): 180. doi:10.1039/b302337k. PMID 15039842.
[49] Henze (1911). Untersuchungen fiber das Blut der Ascidien. I. Mitteilung. Z. Physiol. Chem. 72, 494–50.
[50] Michibata, H; Uyama, T; Ueki, T; Kanamori, K (2002). "Vanadocytes, cells hold the key to resolving the highly selective accumulation and
reduction of vanadium in ascidians". Microscopy Research and Technique 56 (6): 421–434. doi:10.1002/jemt.10042. PMID 11921344.
[51] Phillips, Alexander (1918). A Possible Source of Vanadium in Sedimentary Rocks (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=O6KxwrrC_LMC&
pg=PA473). Princeton University. .
[52] Ciereszko, L. (1962). "On the Occurrence of Vanadium in Holothurians". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 7: 127–129.
doi:10.1016/0010-406X(62)90034-8. PMID 14021342.
[53] Rehder, Dieter (1992). "Structure and function of vanadium compounds in living organisms". BioMetals 5 (1): 3–12.
doi:10.1007/BF01079691. PMID 1392470.
[54] Robson, R. L.; Eady, R. R.; Richardson, T. H.; Miller, R. W.; Hawkins, M.; Postgate, J. R. (1986). "The alternative nitrogenase of
Azotobacter chroococcum is a vanadium enzyme". Nature (London) 322 (6077): 388–390. Bibcode 1986Natur.322..388R.
doi:10.1038/322388a0.
[55] Kneifel, Helmut; Bayer, Ernst (1997). "Determination of the Structure of the Vanadium Compound, Amavadine, from Fly Agaric".
Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English 12 (6): 508. doi:10.1002/anie.197305081. ISSN 10.1002/anie.197305081.
[56] Falandysz, J.; Kunito, T., Kubota, R.; Lipka, K.; Mazur, A.; Falandysz, Justyna J.; Tanabe, S. (2007). "Selected elements in fly agaric
Amanita muscaria". Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A 42 (11): 1615–1623. doi:10.1080/10934520701517853.
PMID 17849303.
[57] Berry, Robert E.; Armstrong, Elaine M.; Beddoes, Roy L.; Collison, David; Ertok, Nigar; Helliwell, Madeleine; Garner, David (1999). "The
Structural Characterization of Amavadin". Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 38 (6): 795–797.
doi:10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19990315)38:6<795::AID-ANIE795>3.0.CO;2-7.
[58] Schwarz, Klaus; Milne, David B. (1971). "Growth Effects of Vanadium in the Rat". Science 174 (4007): 426–428.
Bibcode 1971Sci...174..426S. doi:10.1126/science.174.4007.426. JSTOR 1731776. PMID 5112000.
[59] Yeh, Gloria Y.; Eisenberg, David M.; Kaptchuk, Ted J.; Phillips, Russell S. (2003). "Systematic Review of Herbs and Dietary Supplements
for Glycemic Control in Diabetes" (http:/ / care. diabetesjournals. org/ cgi/ content/ full/ 26/ 4/ 1277). Diabetes Care 26 (4): 1277–1294.
doi:10.2337/diacare.26.4.1277. PMID 12663610. .
[60] Talbott, Shawn M.; Hughes, Kerry (2007). "Vanadium" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=hV2_TdmoDo8C& pg=PA419). The Health
Professional's Guide to Dietary Supplements. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 419–422. ISBN 9780781746724. .
[61] Halberstam, M et al.; Cohen, N; Shlimovich, P; Rossetti, L; Shamoon, H (1996). "Oral vanadyl sulfate improves insulin sensitivity in
NIDDM but not in obese nondiabetic subjects.". Diabetes 45 (5): 659–66. doi:10.2337/diabetes.45.5.659. PMID 8621019.
[62] Boden, G et al.; Chen, X; Ruiz, J; Van Rossum, GD; Turco, S (1996;). "Effects of vanadyl sulfate on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in
patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.". Metabolism 45 (9): 1130–5. doi:10.1016/S0026-0495(96)90013-X. PMID 8781301.
[63] Goldfine, AB et al.; Patti, ME; Zuberi, L; Goldstein, BJ; Leblanc, R; Landaker, EJ; Jiang, ZY; Willsky, GR et al. (2000). "Metabolic effects
of vanadyl sulfate in humans with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: in vivo and in vitro studies.". Metabolism 49 (3): 400–10.
doi:10.1016/S0026-0495(00)90418-9. PMID 10726921.
[64] Badmaev, V et al.; Prakash, Subbalakshmi; Majeed, Muhammed (1999). "Vanadium: a review of its potential role in the fight against
diabetes.". Altern Complement Med. 5: 273–291. doi:10.1089/acm.1999.5.273. PMID 10381252.
[65] Goldwaser, I et al.; Li, J; Gershonov, E; Armoni, M; Karnieli, E; Fridkin, M; Shechter, Y (1999). "L-Glutamic Acid gamma
-Monohydroxamate. A Potentiator of Vanadium-Evoked Glucose Metabolism in vitro and in vivo". J Biol Chem 274 (37): 26617–26624.
doi:10.1074/jbc.274.37.26617. PMID 10473627.
[66] Aureliano, Manuel; Crans, Debbie C. (2009). "Decavanadate and oxovanadates: Oxometalates with many biological activities". Journal
Inorganic Biochemistry 103: 536–546. doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2008.11010.
[67] Roschin, A. V. (1967). "Toxicology of vanadium compounds used in modern industry". Gig Sanit. (Water Res.) 32 (6): 26–32.
PMID 5605589.
[68] "Occupational Safety and Health Guidelines for Vanadium Pentoxide" (http:/ / www. osha. gov/ SLTC/ healthguidelines/
vanadiumpentoxidedust/ recognition. html). Occupational Safety and Health Administration. . Retrieved 2009-01-29.
[69] Sax, N. I. (1984). Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, 6th ed.. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. pp. 2717–2720.
Vanadium 16
[70] Ress, N. B.; et al. (2003). "Carcinogenicity of inhaled vanadium pentoxide in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice". Toxicological Sciences 74
(2): 287–296. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfg136. PMID 12773761.
[71] Jörg M. Wörle-Knirsch, Katrin Kern, Carsten Schleh, Christel Adelhelm, Claus Feldmann, and Harald F. Krug (2007). "Nanoparticulate
Vanadium Oxide Potentiated Vanadium Toxicity in Human Lung Cells". Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 (1): 331–336. doi:10.1021/es061140x.
PMID 17265967.
[72] Ścibior, A.; Zaporowska, H.; Ostrowski, J. (2006). "Selected haematological and biochemical parameters of blood in rats after subchronic
administration of vanadium and/or magnesium in drinking water". Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 51 (2): 287–295.
doi:10.1007/s00244-005-0126-4. PMID 16783625.
[73] Gonzalez-Villalva, A.; et al. (2006). "Thrombocytosis induced in mice after subacute and subchronic V2O5 inhalation". Toxicology and
Industrial Health 22 (3): 113–116. doi:10.1191/0748233706th250oa. PMID 16716040.
[74] Kobayashi, Kazuo et al. (2006,). "Pentavalent vanadium induces hepatic metallothionein through interleukin-6-dependent and -independent
mechanisms". Toxicology 228 (2–3): 162–170. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2006.08.022. PMID 16987576.
[75] Soazo, Marina; Garcia, Graciela Beatriz (2007). "Vanadium exposure through lactation produces behavioral alterations and CNS myelin
deficit in neonatal rats". Neurotoxicology and Teratology 29 (4): 503–510. doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2007.03.001. PMID 17493788.
[76] Barceloux, Donald G.; Barceloux, Donald (1999). "Vanadium". Clinical Toxicology 37 (2): 265–278. doi:10.1081/CLT-100102425.
PMID 10382561.
[77] Duffus, J. H. (2007). "Carcinogenicity classification of vanadium pentoxide and inorganic vanadium compounds, the NTP study of
carcinogenicity of inhaled vanadium pentoxide, and vanadium chemistry". Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 47 (1): 110–114.
doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2006.08.006. PMID 17030368.
[78] Opreskos, Dennis M. (1991). "Toxicity Summary for Vanadium" (http:/ / rais. ornl. gov/ tox/ profiles/ vanadium_f_V1. html). Oak Ridge
National Laboratory. . Retrieved 2008-11-08.
Further reading
• Slebodnick, Carla et al. (1999). "Modeling the Biological Chemistry of Vanadium: Structural and Reactivity
Studies Elucidating Biological Function" (http://books.google.com/books?id=ZF5aNOeHd5sC&pg=PA51). In
Hill, Hugh A.O. et al.. Metal sites in proteins and models: phosphatases, Lewis acids, and vanadium. Springer.
ISBN 9783540655534.
External links
• National Instrument Vanadium Technical Report (http://argex.ca/documents/geological_technicals/revised
43-101 Technical Report January 14 2011.pdf) Vanadium recovery methods
• ATSDR – ToxFAQs: Vanadium (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts58.html)
Niobium 17
Niobium
Niobium
Appearance
gray metallic, bluish when oxidized
General properties
Name, symbol, number niobium, Nb, 41
Pronunciation /naɪˈoʊbiəm/
nye-oh-bee-əm;
alternatively, /kəˈlʌmbiəm/
kə-lum-bee-əm
Standard atomic weight 92.90638 g·mol

−1
Electron configuration [Kr] 4d 5s

4 1
Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 12, 1 (Image)
Physical properties
Phase solid
Density (near r.t.) 8.57 g·cm

−3
Heat of fusion 30 kJ·mol−1
Heat of vaporization 689.9 kJ·mol−1
Vapor pressure
P/Pa 1 10 100 1k 10 k 100 k
at T/K 2942 3207 3524 3910 4393 5013
Atomic properties
Oxidation states 5, 4, 3, 2, -1
(mildly acidic oxide)

Niobium 18
Ionization energies 1st: 652.1 kJ·mol−1
2nd: 1380 kJ·mol−1
3rd: 2416 kJ·mol−1
Miscellanea
Crystal structure cubic body-centered
Magnetic ordering paramagnetic
Thermal conductivity (300 K) 53.7 W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion 7.3 µm/(m·K)
Poisson ratio 0.40
Mohs hardness 6.0
Vickers hardness 1320 MPa
Brinell hardness 736 MPa

91
Nb syn 6.8×10 y
2 ε - 91
Zr
91m
Nb syn 60.86 d IT 0.104e 91
Nb
92
Nb syn 10.15 d ε - 92
Zr
γ 0.934 -
92
Nb syn 3.47×107y ε - 92
Zr
γ 0.561, 0.934 -
93
Nb 100% 93
Nb is stable with 52 neutron
93m
Nb syn 16.13 y IT 0.031e 93
Nb
94
Nb syn 2.03×104 y β− 0.471 94
Mo
γ 0.702, 0.871 -
95
Nb syn 34.991 d β− 0.159 95
Mo
γ 0.765 -
95m
Nb syn 3.61 d IT 0.235 95
Nb
Niobium 19
Niobium ( /naɪˈoʊbiəm/) or columbium (/kəˈlʌmbiəm/), is a chemical element with the symbol Nb and atomic
number 41. It's a soft, grey, ductile transition metal, which is often found in the pyrochlore mineral, the main
commercial source for niobium, and columbite. The name comes from Greek mythology: Niobe, daughter of
Tantalus.
Niobium has physical and chemical properties similar to those of the element tantalum, and the two are therefore
difficult to distinguish. The English chemist Charles Hatchett reported a new element similar to tantalum in 1801,
and named it columbium. In 1809, the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston wrongly concluded that tantalum
and columbium were identical. The German chemist Heinrich Rose determined in 1846 that tantalum ores contain a
second element, which he named niobium. In 1864 and 1865, a series of scientific findings clarified that niobium and
columbium were the same element (as distinguished from tantalum), and for a century both names were used
interchangeably. The name of the element was officially adopted as niobium in 1949.
It was not until the early 20th century that niobium was first used commercially. Brazil is the leading producer of
niobium and ferroniobium, an alloy of niobium and iron. Niobium is used mostly in alloys, the largest part in special
steel such as that used in gas pipelines. Although alloys contain only a maximum of 0.1%, that small percentage of
niobium improves the strength of the steel. The temperature stability of niobium-containing superalloys is important
for its use in jet and rocket engines. Niobium is used in various superconducting materials. These superconducting
alloys, also containing titanium and tin, are widely used in the superconducting magnets of MRI scanners. Other
applications of niobium include its use in welding, nuclear industries, electronics, optics, numismatics and jewelry.
In the last two applications, niobium's low toxicity and ability to be colored by anodization are particular advantages.
History
Niobium was discovered by the English chemist Charles Hatchett in 1801.[1] He
found a new element in a mineral sample that had been sent to England from
Massachusetts, United States in 1734 by a John Winthrop,[2] and named the mineral
columbite and the new element columbium after Columbia, the poetical name for
America.[3] The columbium discovered by Hatchett was probably a mixture of the
new element with tantalum.[3]
Subsequently, there was considerable confusion[4] over the difference between

columbium (niobium) and the closely related tantalum. In 1809, the English chemist
William Hyde Wollaston compared the oxides derived from both
Charles Hatchett was the columbium—columbite, with a density 5.918 g/cm3, and tantalum—tantalite, with a
discoverer of columbium.
density over 8 g/cm3, and concluded that the two oxides, despite the significant
difference in density, were identical; thus he kept the name tantalum.[4] This
conclusion was disputed in 1846 by the German chemist Heinrich Rose, who argued that there were two different
elements in the tantalite sample, and named them after children of Tantalus: niobium (from Niobe), and pelopium
(from Pelops).[5] [6] This confusion arose from the minimal observed differences between tantalum and niobium. The
claimed new elements pelopium, ilmenium and dianium[7] were in fact identical to niobium or mixtures of niobium
and tantalum.[8]
The differences between tantalum and niobium were unequivocally demonstrated in 1864 by Christian Wilhelm
Blomstrand,[8] and Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville, as well as Louis J. Troost, who determined the formulas of
some of the compounds in 1865[8] [9] and finally by the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac[10] in
1866, who all proved that there were only two elements. Articles on ilmenium continued to appear until 1871.[11]
Niobium 20
De Marignac was the first to prepare the metal in 1864, when he reduced niobium
chloride by heating it in an atmosphere of hydrogen.[12] Although de Marignac was
able to produce tantalum-free niobium on a larger scale by 1866, it was not until the
early 20th century that niobium was first used commercially, in incandescent lamp
filaments.[9] This use quickly became obsolete through the replacement of niobium
with tungsten, which has a higher melting point and thus is preferable for use in
incandescent lamps. The discovery that niobium improves the strength of steel was
made in the 1920s, and this application remains its predominant use.[9] In 1961 the
American physicist Eugene Kunzler and coworkers at Bell Labs discovered that
niobium-tin continues to exhibit superconductivity in the presence of strong electric
currents and magnetic fields,[13] making it the first material to support the high
Picture of a Hellenistic currents and fields necessary for useful high-power magnets and electrically powered
sculpture representing Niobe
machinery. This discovery would allow — two decades later — the production of long
by Giorgio Sommer
multi-strand cables that could be wound into coils to create large, powerful
electromagnets for rotating machinery, particle accelerators, or particle detectors.[14]
[15]
Naming of the element

Columbium (symbol Cb[16] ) was the name originally given to this element by Hatchett, and this name remained in
use in American journals—the last paper published by American Chemical Society with columbium in its title dates
from 1953[17] —while niobium was used in Europe. To end this confusion, the name niobium was chosen for
element 41 at the 15th Conference of the Union of Chemistry in Amsterdam in 1949.[18] A year later this name was
officially adopted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) after 100 years of
controversy, despite the chronological precedence of the name Columbium.[18] The latter name is still sometimes
used in US industry.[19] This was a compromise of sorts;[18] the IUPAC accepted tungsten instead of wolfram, in
deference to North American usage; and niobium instead of columbium, in deference to European usage. Not
everyone agreed, and while many leading chemical societies and government organizations refer to it by the official
IUPAC name, many leading metallurgists, metal societies, and the United States Geological Survey still refer to the
metal by the original "columbium".[20] [21]
Characteristics
Physical
Niobium is a lustrous, grey, ductile, paramagnetic metal in group 5 of the periodic table (see table), although it has
an atypical configuration in its outermost electron shells compared to the rest of the members. (This can be observed
in the neighborhood of ruthenium (44), rhodium (45), and palladium (46).)
Niobium 21
Z Element No. of electrons/shell
23 vanadium 2, 8, 11, 2
41 niobium 2, 8, 18, 12, 1
73 tantalum 2, 8, 18, 32, 11, 2
105 dubnium 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 11, 2
Niobium becomes a superconductor at cryogenic temperatures. At atmospheric pressure, it has the highest critical
temperature of the elemental superconductors: 9.2 K.[22] Niobium has the largest magnetic penetration depth of any
element.[22] In addition, it is one of the three elemental Type II superconductors, along with vanadium and
technetium. The superconductive properties are strongly dependent on the purity of the niobium metal.[23] When
very pure, it is comparatively soft and ductile, but impurities make it harder.[24]
The metal has a low capture cross-section for thermal neutrons;[25] thus it is used in the nuclear industries.[26]
Chemical
The metal takes on a bluish tinge when exposed to air at room temperature for extended periods.[27] Despite
presenting a high melting point in elemental form (2,468 °C), it has a low density in comparison to other refractory
metals. Furthermore, it is corrosion resistant, exhibits superconductivity properties, and forms dielectric oxide layers.
Niobium is slightly less electropositive and more compact than its predecessor in the periodic table, zirconium,
whereas it is virtually identical in size to the heavier tantalum atoms, owing to the lanthanide contraction.[24] As a
result, niobium's chemical properties are very similar to those for tantalum, which appears directly below niobium in
the periodic table.[9] Although its corrosion resistance is not as outstanding as that of tantalum, its lower price and
greater availability make niobium attractive for less demanding uses such as linings in chemical plants.[24]
Isotopes
Naturally occurring niobium is composed of one stable isotope, 93Nb.[28] As of 2003, at least 32 radioisotopes have
also been synthesized, ranging in atomic mass from 81 to 113. The most stable of these is 92Nb with a half-life of
34.7 million years. One of the least stable is 113Nb, with an estimated half-life of 30 milliseconds. Isotopes that are
lighter than the stable 93Nb tend to decay by β+ decay, and those that are heavier tend to decay by β- decay, with
some exceptions. 81Nb, 82Nb, and 84Nb have minor β+ delayed proton emission decay paths, 91Nb decays by
electron capture and positron emission, and 92Nb decays by both β+ and β- decay.[28]
At least 25 nuclear isomers have been described, ranging in atomic mass from 84 to 104. Within this range, only
96
Nb, 101Nb, and 103Nb do not have isomers. The most stable of niobium's isomers is 93mNb with a half-life of
16.13 years. The least stable isomer is 84mNb with a half-life of 103 ns. All of niobium's isomers decay by isomeric
transition or beta decay except 92m1Nb, which has a minor electron capture decay chain.[28]
Occurrence
Niobium is estimated to be 33rd on the list of the most common elements in the Earth’s crust with 20 ppm.[29] Some
think that the abundance on Earth should be much greater, but that the “missing” niobium may be located in the
Earth’s core due to the metal's high density.[20] The free element is not found in nature, but it does occur in
minerals.[24] Minerals that contain niobium often also contain tantalum, such as columbite ((Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)2O6) and
columbite-tantalite (or coltan, (Fe,Mn)(Ta,Nb)2O6).[30] Columbite-tantalite minerals are most usually found as
accessory minerals in pegmatite intrusions, and in alkaline intrusive rocks. Less common are the niobates of calcium,
uranium, thorium and the rare earth elements such as pyrochlore ((Na,Ca)2Nb2O6(OH,F)) and euxenite
((Y,Ca,Ce,U,Th)(Nb,Ta,Ti)2O6). These large deposits of niobium have been found associated with carbonatites
(carbonate-silicate igneous rocks) and as a constituent of pyrochlore.[31]
Niobium 22
The two largest deposits of pyrochlore were found in the 1950s in Brazil and Canada, and both countries are still the
major producers of niobium mineral concentrates.[9] The largest deposit is hosted within a carbonatite intrusion at
Araxá, Minas Gerais Brazil, owned by CBMM (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração); the other deposit
is located at Goiás owned by Anglo American plc (through its subsidiary Mineração Catalão), also hosted within a
carbonatite intrusion.[32] Altogether these two Brazilian mines produce around 75% of world supply. The third
largest producer of niobium is the carbonatite-hosted Niobec Mine, Saint-Honoré near Chicoutimi, Quebec owned
by Iamgold Corporation Ltd, which produces around 7% of world supply.[32]
Extensive unexploited resources are located in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Malawi,
Australia, Afghanistan, Russia and Colombia.
Production
After the separation from the other minerals,
the mixed oxides of tantalum Ta2O5 and
niobium Nb2O5 are obtained. The first step
in the processing is the reaction of the
oxides with hydrofluoric acid:[30]
Ta2O5 + 14 HF → 2 H2[TaF7] + 5
H2O
Nb2O5 + 10 HF → 2 H2[NbOF5] + 3
H2O Niobium producers in 2007
The first industrial scale separation,

developed by de Marignac, exploits the differing solubilities of the complex niobium and tantalum fluorides,
dipotassium oxypentafluoroniobate monohydrate (K2[NbOF5]·H2O) and dipotassium heptafluorotantalate
(K2[TaF7]) in water. Newer processes use the liquid extraction of the fluorides from aqueous solution by organic
solvents like cyclohexanone.[30] The complex niobium and tantalum fluorides are extracted separately from the
organic solvent with water and either precipitated by the addition of potassium fluoride to produce a potassium
fluoride complex, or precipitated with ammonia as the pentoxide:[33]
H2[NbOF5] + 2 KF → K2[NbOF5]↓ + 2 HF
Followed by:
2 H2[NbOF5] + 10 NH4OH → Nb2O5↓ + 10 NH4F + 7 H2O
Several methods are used for the reduction to metallic niobium. The electrolysis of a molten mixture of K2[NbOF5]
and sodium chloride is one; the other is the reduction of the fluoride with sodium. With this method niobium with a
relatively high purity can be obtained. In large scale production the reduction of Nb2O5 with hydrogen or carbon[33]
is used. In the process involving the aluminothermic reaction a mixture of iron oxide and niobium oxide is reacted
with aluminium:
3 Nb2O5 + Fe2O3 + 12 Al → 6 Nb + 2 Fe + 6 Al2O3
To enhance the reaction, small amounts of oxidizers like sodium nitrate are added. The result is aluminium oxide and
ferroniobium, an alloy of iron and niobium used in the steel production.[34] [35] The ferroniobium contains between
60 and 70% of niobium.[32] Without addition of iron oxide, aluminothermic process is used for the production of
niobium. Further purification is necessary to reach the grade for superconductive alloys. Electron beam melting
under vacuum is the method used by the two major distributors of niobium.[36] [37]
The United States Geological Survey estimates that the production increased from 38,700 tonnes in 2005 to 44,500
tonnes in 2006.[38] [39] The worldwide resources are estimated to be 4,400,000 tonnes.[39] During the ten-year period
between 1995 and 2005, the production more than doubled, starting from 17,800 tonnes in 1995.[40]
Niobium 23
Compounds
Niobium is in many ways similar to tantalum and zirconium. It reacts with most nonmetals at high temperatures:
niobium reacts with fluorine at room temperature, with chlorine and hydrogen at 200 °C, and with nitrogen at
400 °C, giving products that are frequently interstitial and nonstoichiometric.[24] The metal begins to oxidize in air at
200 °C,[33] and is resistant to corrosion by fused alkalis and by acids, including aqua regia, hydrochloric, sulfuric,
nitric and phosphoric acids.[24] Niobium is attacked by hydrofluoric acid and hydrofluoric/nitric acid mixtures.
Although niobium exhibits all of the formal oxidation states from +5 to -1, in most commonly encountered
compounds, it is found in the +5 state.[24] Characteristically, compounds in oxidation states less than 5+ display
Nb-Nb bonding.
Oxides and sulfides

Niobium forms oxides with the oxidation states +5 (Nb2O5), +4 (NbO2), and +3 (Nb2O3),[33] as well as with the
rarer oxidation state +2 (NbO).[41] Most commonly encountered is the pentoxide, precursor to almost all niobium
compounds and alloys.[33] [42] Niobates are generated by dissolving the pentoxide in basic hydroxide solutions or by
melting it in alkali metal oxides. Examples are lithium niobate (LiNbO3) and lanthanum niobate (LaNbO4). In the
lithium niobate is a trigonally distorted perovskite-like structure, whereas the lanthanum niobate contains lone
NbO43− ions.[33] The layered niobium sulfide (NbS2) is also known.[24]
Halides
Niobium forms halides in the oxidation states of +5 and +4 as well as
diverse substoichiometric compounds.[33] [36] The pentahalides (NbX5)
feature octahedral Nb centres. Niobium pentafluoride (NbF5) is a white
solid with a melting point of 79.0 °C and niobium pentachloride
(NbCl5) is yellow (see image at left) with a melting point of 203.4 °C.
Both are hydrolyzed to give oxides and oxyhalides, such as NbOCl3.
The pentachloride is a versatile reagent being used to generate the
organometallic compounds, such as niobocene dichloride
((C5H5)2NbCl2).[43] The tetrahalides (NbX4) are dark-coloured
polymers with Nb-Nb bonds, for example the black hygroscopic
niobium tetrafluoride (NbF4) and brown niobium tetrachloride
(NbCl4).
A sample of niobium pentachloride (yellow
portion) that has partially hydrolyzed (white
Anionic halide compounds of niobium are well known, owing in part
material).
to the Lewis acidity of the pentahalides. The most important is
[NbF7]2-, which is an intermediate in the separation of Nb and Ta from
the ores.[30] This heptafluoride tends to form the oxopentafluoride
more readily than does the tantalum compound.Other halide complexes
include octahedral [NbCl6]-:
Nb2Cl10 + 2 Cl- → 2 [NbCl6]-

As for other early metals, a variety of reduced halide clusters are
known, the premier example being [Nb6Cl18]4-.[44]
Ball-and-stick model of niobium pentachloride,

which exists as a dimer
Niobium 24
Nitrides and carbides

Other binary compounds of niobium include the niobium nitride (NbN), which becomes a superconductor at low
temperatures and is used in detectors for infrared light.[45] The main niobium carbide is NbC, an extremely hard,
refractory, ceramic material, commercially used in tool bits for cutting tools.
Applications
It is estimated that out of 44,500 metric tons of niobium mined in 2006,
90% was used in the production of high-grade structural steel, followed
by its use in superalloys.[46] The use of niobium alloys for
superconductors and in electronic components account only for a small
share of the production.[46]
Steel production
Niobium is an effective microalloying element for steel. Adding
niobium to the steel causes the formation of niobium carbide and
niobium nitride within the structure of the steel.[20] These compounds A niobium foil
improve the grain refining, retardation of recrystallization, and
precipitation hardening of the steel. These effects in turn increase the toughness, strength, formability, and
weldability of the microalloyed steel.[20] Microalloyed stainless steels have a niobium content of less than 0.1%.[47]
It is an important alloy addition to high strength low alloy steels which are widely used as structural components in
modern automobiles.[20] These niobium-containing alloys are strong and are often used in pipeline construction.[48]
[49]
Superalloys
Appreciable amounts of the element, either in its pure form or in the
form of high-purity ferroniobium and nickel niobium, are used in
nickel-, cobalt-, and iron-based superalloys for such applications as jet
engine components, gas turbines, rocket subassemblies, and heat
resisting and combustion equipment. Niobium precipitates a hardening
γ''-phase within the grain structure of the superalloy.[50] The alloys
contain up to 6.5% niobium.[47] One example of a nickel-based
niobium-containing superalloy is Inconel 718, which consists of
roughly 50% nickel, 18.6% chromium, 18.5% iron, 5% niobium, 3.1%
molybdenum, 0.9% titanium, and 0.4% aluminium.[51] [52] These Apollo 15 CSM in lunar orbit with the dark
superalloys are used, for example, in advanced air frame systems such rocket nozzle made from niobium-titanium alloy
as those used in the Gemini program.
An alloy used for liquid rocket thruster nozzles, such as in the main engine of the Apollo Lunar Modules, is C103,
which consists of 89% niobium, 10% hafnium and 1% titanium.[53] Another niobium alloy was used for the nozzle
of the Apollo Service Module. As niobium is oxidized at temperatures above 400 °C, a protective coating is
necessary for these applications to prevent the alloy from becoming brittle.[53]
Niobium 25
Superconducting magnets
Niobium-germanium (Nb3Ge), niobium-tin (Nb3Sn), as well as the
niobium-titanium alloys are used as a type II superconductor wire for
superconducting magnets.[54] [55] These superconducting magnets are
used in magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance
instruments as well as in particle accelerators.[56] For example, the
Large Hadron Collider uses 600 tons of superconducting strands, while
the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is estimated to
use 600 tonnes of Nb3Sn strands and 250 tonnes of NbTi strands.[57] In
1992 alone, niobium-titanium wires were used to construct more than
A 3 tesla clinical magnetic resonance imaging
US$1 billion worth of clinical magnetic resonance imaging systems.[14]
scanner using niobium-superconducting alloy
Superconducting, other
The Superconducting Radio Frequency (RF) cavities used in the free electron lasers TESLA and XFEL are made
from pure niobium.[58]
The high sensitivity of superconducting niobium nitride bolometers make them an ideal detector for electromagnetic
radiation in the THz frequency band. These detectors were tested at the Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope, the
South Pole Telescope, the Receiver Lab Telescope, and at APEX and are now used in the HIFI instrument on board
the Herschel Space Observatory.[59]
Other uses
Electroceramics
Lithium niobate, which is a ferroelectric, is used extensively in mobile telephones and optical modulators, and for
the manufacture of surface acoustic wave devices. It belongs to the ABO3 structure ferroelectrics like lithium
tantalate and barium titanate.[60] Niobium was evaluated as a cheaper alternative to tantalum in capacitors,[61] but
tantalum capacitors are still predominant. Niobium is added to glass in order to attain a higher refractive index, a
property of use to the optical industry in making thinner corrective glasses.
Hypoallergenic applications: medicine and jewelry

Niobium and some niobium alloys are physiologically inert and thus hypoallergenic. For this reason, niobium is
found in many medical devices such as pacemakers.[62] Niobium treated with sodium hydroxide forms a porous layer
that aids osseointegration.[63]
Along with titanium, tantalum, and aluminium, niobium can also be electrically heated and anodized, resulting in a
wide array of colours using a process known as reactive metal anodizing which is useful in making jewelry.[64] [65]
The fact that niobium is hypoallergenic also benefits its use in jewelry.[66]
Numismatics
Niobium is used as a precious metal in commemorative coins, often with silver or gold. For example, Austria
produced a series of silver niobium euro coins starting in 2003; the colour in these coins is created by the diffraction
of light by a thin oxide layer produced by anodising.[67] In 2008, six coins are available showing a broad variety of
colours in the centre of the coin: blue, green, brown, purple, violet, or yellow. Two more examples are the 2004
Austrian €25 150 Years Semmering Alpine Railway commemorative coin,[68] and the 2006 Austrian €25 European
Satellite Navigation commemorative coin.[69] Latvia produced a similar series of coins starting in 2004,[70] with one
following in 2007.[71] In 2011, the Royal Canadian Mint started production of a $5 sterling silver and niobium coin
named Hunter's Moon [72] in which the niobium was selectively oxidized, thus creating unique finishes where no two
Niobium 26
coins are exactly alike.
Other
The arc-tube seals of high pressure sodium vapor lamps are made from niobium, or niobium with 1% of zirconium,
because niobium has a very similar coefficient of thermal expansion to the sintered alumina arc tube ceramic, a
translucent material which resists chemical attack or reduction by the hot liquid sodium and sodium vapour
contained inside the operating lamp.[73] [74] [75] The metal is also used in arc welding rods for some stabilized grades
of stainless steel.[76]
Precautions
Niobium has no known biological role. While niobium dust is an eye and skin irritant and a potential fire hazard,
elemental niobium on a larger scale is physiologically inert (and thus hypoallergenic) and harmless. It is frequently
used in jewelry and has been tested for use in some medical implants.[77] [78]
Niobium-containing compounds are rarely encountered by most people, but some are toxic and should be treated
with care. The short and long term exposure to niobates and niobium chloride, two chemicals that are water soluble,
have been tested in rats. Rats treated with a single injection of niobium pentachloride or niobates show a median
lethal dose (LD50) between 10 and 100 mg/kg.[79] [80] [81] For oral administration the toxicity is lower; a study with
rats yielded a LD50 after seven days of 940 mg/kg.[79]
References
[1] Hatchett, Charles (1802). "Eigenschaften und chemisches Verhalten des von Charlesw Hatchett entdeckten neuen Metalls, Columbium" (in
German). Annalen der Physik 11 (5): 120–122. Bibcode 1802AnP....11..120H. doi:10.1002/andp.18020110507.
[2] Griffith, William P.; Morris, Peter J. T. (2003). "Charles Hatchett FRS (1765-1847), Chemist and Discoverer of Niobium". Notes and
Records of the Royal Society of London 57 (3): 299. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2003.0216. JSTOR 3557720.
[3] Noyes, William Albert (1918). A Textbook of Chemistry (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=UupHAAAAIAAJ& pg=PA523& dq=columbium+
discovered+ by+ Hatchett+ was+ a+ mixture+ of+ two+ elements). H. Holt & Co. p. 523. .
[4] Wollaston, William Hyde (1809). "On the Identity of Columbium and Tantalum". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
99: 246–252. doi:10.1098/rstl.1809.0017. JSTOR 107264.
[5] Rose, Heinrich (1844). "Ueber die Zusammensetzung der Tantalite und ein im Tantalite von Baiern enthaltenes neues Metall" (http:/ / gallica.
bnf. fr/ ark:/ 12148/ bpt6k15148n/ f327. table) (in German). Annalen der Physik 139 (10): 317–341. Bibcode 1844AnP...139..317R.
doi:10.1002/andp.18441391006. .
[6] Rose, Heinrich (1847). "Ueber die Säure im Columbit von Nordamérika" (http:/ / gallica. bnf. fr/ ark:/ 12148/ bpt6k15155x/ f586. table) (in
German). Annalen der Physik 146 (4): 572–577. Bibcode 1847AnP...146..572R. doi:10.1002/andp.18471460410. .
[7] Kobell, V. (1860). "Ueber eine eigenthümliche Säure, Diansäure, in der Gruppe der Tantal- und Niob- verbindungen". Journal für Praktische
Chemie 79 (1): 291–303. doi:10.1002/prac.18600790145.
[8] Marignac, Blomstrand, H. Deville, L. Troost und R. Hermann (1866). "Tantalsäure, Niobsäure, (Ilmensäure) und Titansäure". Fresenius'
Journal of Analytical Chemistry 5 (1): 384–389. doi:10.1007/BF01302537.
[9] Gupta, C. K.; Suri, A. K. (1994). Extractive Metallurgy of Niobium. CRC Press. pp. 1–16. ISBN 0-8493-6071-4.
[10] Marignac, M. C. (1866). "Recherches sur les combinaisons du niobium" (http:/ / gallica. bnf. fr/ ark:/ 12148/ bpt6k34818t/ f4. table) (in
French). Annales de chimie et de physique 4 (8): 7–75. .
[11] Hermann, R. (1871). "Fortgesetzte Untersuchungen über die Verbindungen von Ilmenium und Niobium, sowie über die Zusammensetzung
der Niobmineralien (Further research about the compounds of ilmenium and niobium, as well as the composition of niobium minerals)" (in
German). Journal für Praktische Chemie 3 (1): 373–427. doi:10.1002/prac.18710030137.
[12] "Niobium" (http:/ / nautilus. fis. uc. pt/ st2. 5/ scenes-e/ elem/ e04100. html). Universidade de Coimbra. . Retrieved 2008-09-05.
[13] Geballe et al. (1993) gives a critical point at currents of 150 kiloamperes and magnetic fields of 8.8 tesla.
[14] Geballe, Theodore H. (October 1993). "Superconductivity: From Physics to Technology". Physics Today 46 (10): 52–56.
doi:10.1063/1.881384.
[15] Matthias, B. T.; Geballe, T. H.; Geller, S.; Corenzwit, E. (1954). "Superconductivity of Nb3Sn". Physical Review 95: 1435–1435.
Bibcode 1954PhRv...95.1435M. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.95.1435.
[16] Kòrösy, F. (1939). "Reaction of Tantalum, Columbium and Vanadium with Iodine". Journal of the American Chemical Society 61 (4):
838–843. doi:10.1021/ja01873a018.
[17] Ikenberry, Luther; Martin, J. L.; Boyer, W. J. (1953). "Photometric Determination of Columbium, Tungsten, and Tantalum in Stainless
Steels". Analytical Chemistry 25 (9): 1340–1344. doi:10.1021/ac60081a011.
Niobium 27
[18] Rayner-Canham, Geoff; Zheng, Zheng (2008). "Naming elements after scientists: an account of a controversy". Foundations of Chemistry
10 (1): 13–18. doi:10.1007/s10698-007-9042-1.
[19] Clarke, F. W. (1914). "Columbium Versus Niobium". Science 39 (995): 139–140. Bibcode 1914Sci....39..139C.
doi:10.1126/science.39.995.139. JSTOR 1640945. PMID 17780662.
[20] Patel, Zh.; Khul'ka K. (2001). "Niobium for Steelmaking". Metallurgist 45 (11–12): 477–480. doi:10.1023/A:1014897029026.
[21] Norman N., Greenwood (2003). "Vanadium to dubnium: from confusion through clarity to complexity". Catalysis Today 78 (1–4): 5–11.
doi:10.1016/S0920-5861(02)00318-8.
[22] Peiniger, M.; Piel, H. (1985). "A Superconducting Nb3Sn Coated Multicell Accelerating Cavity". Nuclear Science 32 (5): 3610.
Bibcode 1985ITNS...32.3610P. doi:10.1109/TNS.1985.4334443.
[23] Salles Moura, Hernane R.; Louremjo de Moura, Louremjo (2007). "Melting And Purification Of Niobium" (http:/ / link. aip. org/ link/
?APCPCS/ 927/ 165/ 1). AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics) (927(Single Crystal - Large Grain Niobium
Technology)): 165–178. ISSN 0094-243X. .
[24] Nowak, Izabela; Ziolek, Maria (1999). "Niobium Compounds: Preparation, Characterization, and Application in Heterogeneous Catalysis".
Chemical Reviews 99 (12): 3603–3624. doi:10.1021/cr9800208. PMID 11849031.
[25] Jahnke, L.P.; Frank, R.G.; Redden, T.K. (1960). "Columbium Alloys Today". Metal Progr. 77 (6): 69–74. OSTI 4183692.
[26] Nikulina, A. V. (2003). "Zirconium-Niobium Alloys for Core Elements of Pressurized Water Reactors". Metal Science and Heat Treatment
45 (7–8): 287–292. doi:10.1023/A:1027388503837.
[27] Lide, David R. (2004). "The Elements". CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (85 ed.). CRC Press. pp. 4–21. ISBN 978-0-8493-0485-9.
[29] Emsley, John (2001). "Niobium". Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press.
pp. 283–286. ISBN 0-19-850340-7.
[30] Soisson, Donald J.; McLafferty, J. J.; Pierret, James A. (1961). "Staff-Industry Collaborative Report: Tantalum and Niobium". Industrial
and Engineering Chemistry 53 (11): 861–868. doi:10.1021/ie50623a016.
[31] Lumpkin, Gregory R.; Ewing, Rodney C. (1995). "Geochemical alteration of pyrochlore group minerals: Pyrochlore subgroup" (http:/ /
www. minsocam. org/ msa/ AmMin/ TOC/ Articles_Free/ 1995/ Lumpkin_p732-743_95. pdf). American Mineralogist 80: 732–743. .
[32] Kouptsidis, J; Peters, F.; Proch, D.; Singer, W.. "Niob für TESLA" (http:/ / tesla. desy. de/ new_pages/ TESLA_Reports/ 2001/ pdf_files/
tesla2001-27. pdf) (in German). Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY. . Retrieved 2008-09-02.
[33] Holleman, Arnold F.; Wiberg, Egon; Wiberg, Nils; (1985). "Niob" (in German). Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie (91–100 ed.). Walter
de Gruyter. pp. 1075–1079. ISBN 3-11-007511-3.
[34] Tither, Geoffrey (2001). Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, Metals and Materials Society Minerals. ed. "Progress in Niobium Markets
and Technology 1981–2001" (http:/ / www. cbmm. com. br/ portug/ sources/ techlib/ science_techno/ table_content/ images/ pdfs/ oppening.
pdf) (pdf). Niobium Science & Technology: Proceedings of the International Symposium Niobium 2001 (Orlando, Florida, USA) (Niobium
2001 Ltd, 2002). ISBN 9780971206809. .
[35] Dufresne, Claude; Goyette, Ghislain (2001). Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, Metals and Materials Society Minerals. ed. "The
Production of Ferroniobium at the Niobec mine 1981–2001" (http:/ / www. cbmm. com. br/ portug/ sources/ techlib/ science_techno/
table_content/ sub_1/ images/ pdfs/ start. pdf) (pdf). Niobium Science & Technology: Proceedings of the International Symposium Niobium
2001 (Orlando, Florida, USA) (Niobium 2001 Ltd, 2002). ISBN 9780971206809. .
[36] Agulyansky, Anatoly (2004). The Chemistry of Tantalum and Niobium Fluoride Compounds. Elsevier. pp. 1–11. ISBN 978-0-444-51604-6.
[37] Choudhury, Alok; Hengsberger, Eckart (1992). "Electron Beam Melting and Refining of Metals and Alloys". The Iron and Steel Institute of
Japan International 32 (5): 673–681. doi:10.2355/isijinternational.32.673.
[38] Papp, John F. "Niobium (Columbium)" (http:/ / minerals. usgs. gov/ minerals/ pubs/ commodity/ niobium/ colummcs06. pdf). USGS 2006
Commodity Summary. . Retrieved 2008-11-20.
[39] Papp, John F. "Niobium (Columbium)" (http:/ / minerals. usgs. gov/ minerals/ pubs/ commodity/ niobium/ colummcs07. pdf). USGS 2007
[40] Papp, John F. "Niobium (Columbium)" (http:/ / minerals. usgs. gov/ minerals/ pubs/ commodity/ niobium/ 230397. pdf). USGS 1997
[42] Cardarelli, Francois (2008). Materials Handbook. Springer London. ISBN 978-1-84628-668-1.
[43] C. R. Lucas, J. A. Labinger, J. Schwartz (1990). Robert J. Angelici. ed. "Dichlorobis(η5-Cyclopentadienyl)Niobium(IV)". Inorganic
Syntheses (New York: J. Wiley & Sons) 28: 267–270. doi:10.1002/9780470132593.ch68. ISBN 0-471-52619-3.
[45] Verevkin, A.; Pearlman, A.; Slstrokysz, W.; Zhang, J.; Currie, M.; Korneev, A.; Chulkova, G.; Okunev, O.; Kouminov, P.; Smirnov, K.;
Voronov, B.; N. Gol'tsman, G.; Sobolewski, Roman (2004). "Ultrafast superconducting single-photon detectors for near-infrared-wavelength
quantum communications". Journal of Modern Optics 51 (12): 1447–1458. doi:10.1080/09500340410001670866.
[46] Papp, John F. "Niobium (Columbium ) and Tantalum" (http:/ / minerals. usgs. gov/ minerals/ pubs/ commodity/ niobium/ myb1-2006-niobi.
pdf). USGS 2006 Minerals Yearbook. . Retrieved 2008-09-03.
[47] Heisterkamp, Friedrich; Tadeu Carneiro (2001). Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, Metals and Materials Society Minerals. ed.
"Niobium: Future Possibilities – Technology and the Market Place" (http:/ / www. cbmm. com. br/ portug/ sources/ techlib/ science_techno/
Niobium 28
table_content/ images/ pdfs/ closing. pdf) (pdf). Niobium Science & Technology: Proceedings of the International Symposium Niobium 2001
(Orlando, Florida, USA) (Niobium 2001 Ltd, 2002). ISBN 9780971206809. .
[48] Eggert, Peter; Priem, Joachim; Wettig, Eberhard (1982). "Niobium: a steel additive with a future". Economic Bulletin 19 (9): 8–11.
doi:10.1007/BF02227064.
[49] Hillenbrand, Hans–Georg; Gräf, Michael; Kalwa, Christoph (2001-05-02). "Development and Production of High Strength Pipeline Steels"
(http:/ / www. europipe. com/ files/ ep_tp_43_01en. pdf). Niobium Science & Technology: Proceedings of the International Symposium
Niobium 2001 (Orlando, Florida, USA) (Europipe). .
[50] Donachie, Matthew J. (2002). Superalloys: A Technical Guide. ASM International. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-0-87170-749-9.
[51] Bhadeshia, H. K. D. H. "Nickel Based Superalloys" (http:/ / www. msm. cam. ac. uk/ phase-trans/ 2003/ Superalloys/ superalloys. html).
University of Cambridge. . Retrieved 2008-09-04.
[52] Pottlacher, G.; Hosaeus, H.; Wilthan, B.; Kaschnitz, E.; Seifter, A. (2002). "Thermophysikalische Eigenschaften von festem und flüssigem
Inconel 718" (in German). Thermochimica Acta 382 (1–-2): 55–267. doi:10.1016/S0040-6031(01)00751-1.
[53] Hebda, John (2001-05-02). "Niobium alloys and high Temperature Applications" (http:/ / www. cbmm. com. br/ portug/ sources/ techlib/
science_techno/ table_content/ sub_3/ images/ pdfs/ 016. pdf) (pdf). Niobium Science & Technology: Proceedings of the International
Symposium Niobium 2001 (Orlando, Florida, USA) (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração). .
[54] Lindenhovius, J.L.H.; Hornsveld, E.M.; Den Ouden, A.; Wessel, W.A.J.; Ten Kate, H.H.J. (2000). "Powder-in-tube (PIT) Nb/sub 3/Sn
conductors for high-field magnets". IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity 10: 975–978. doi:10.1109/77.828394.
[55] Nave, Carl R. "Superconducting Magnets" (http:/ / hyperphysics. phy-astr. gsu. edu/ Hbase/ solids/ scmag. html). Georgia State University,
Department of Physics and Astronomy. . Retrieved 2008-11-25.
[56] Glowacki, B. A.; Yan, X. -Y.; Fray, D.; Chen, G.; Majoros, M.; Shi, Y. (2002). "Niobium based intermetallics as a source of
high-current/high magnetic field superconductors". Physica C: Superconductivity 372–376 (3): 1315–1320. arXiv:cond-mat/0109088.
Bibcode 2002PhyC..372.1315G. doi:10.1016/S0921-4534(02)01018-3.
[57] Grunblatt, G.; Mocaer, P.; Verwaerde Ch.; Kohler, C. (2005). "A success story: LHC cable production at ALSTOM-MSA". Fusion
Engineering and Design (Proceedings of the 23rd Symposium of Fusion Technology) 75–79: 1–5. doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2005.06.216.
[58] Lilje, L.; Kakob, E.; Kostina, D.; Matheisena, A.; Möllera, W. -D.; Procha, D.; Reschkea, D.; Saitob, K. Schmüserc, P.; Simrocka, S.;
Suzukid T.; Twarowskia, K. (2004). "Achievement of 35 MV/m in the superconducting nine-cell cavities for TESLA". Nuclear Instruments
and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment 524 (1-3): 1–12.
arXiv:physics/0401141. Bibcode 2004NIMPA.524....1L. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2004.01.045.
[59] Cherednichenko, Sergey; Drakinskiy, Vladimir; Berg, Therese; Khosropanah, Pourya; Kollberg, Erik (2008). "A Hot-electron bolometer
terahertz mixers for the Herschel Space Observatory". Review of Scientific Instruments 79 (3): 0345011–03451010.
Bibcode 2008RScI...79c4501C. doi:10.1063/1.2890099. PMID 18377032.
[60] Volk, Tatyana; Wohlecke, Manfred (2008). Lithium Niobate: Defects, Photorefraction and Ferroelectric Switching. Springer. pp. 1–9.
ISBN 978-3-540-70765-3.
[61] Pozdeev, Y. (1991). "Reliability comparison of tantalum and niobium solid electrolytic capacitors". Quality and Reliability Engineering
International 14 (2): 79–82. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1638(199803/04)14:2<79::AID-QRE163>3.0.CO;2-Y.
[62] Mallela, Venkateswara Sarma; Ilankumaran, V.; Srinivasa Rao, N. (1 January 2004). "Trends in Cardiac Pacemaker Batteries". Indian
Pacing Electrophysiol J. 4 (4): 201–212. PMC 1502062. PMID 16943934.
[63] Godley, Reut; Starosvetsky, David; Gotman, Irena (2004). "Bonelike apatite formation on niobium metal treated in aqueous NaOH" (http:/ /
www. springerlink. com/ content/ l5613670648017wp/ ) (PDF). Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 15 (10): 1073–1077.
doi:10.1023/B:JMSM.0000046388.07961.81. PMID 15516867. .
[64] Biason Gomes, M. A.; Onofre, S.; Juanto, S.; Bulhões, L. O. de S. (1991). "Anodization of niobium in sulphuric acid media". Journal of
Applied Electrochemistry 21 (11): 1023–1026. doi:10.1007/BF01077589.
[65] Chiou, Y. L. (1971). "A note on the thicknesses of anodized niobium oxide films". Thin Solid Films 8 (4): R37–R39.
Bibcode 1971TSF.....8R..37C. doi:10.1016/0040-6090(71)90027-7.
[66] Azevedo, C. R. F.; Spera, G.; Silva, A. P. (2002). "Characterization of metallic piercings that caused adverse reactions during use" (http:/ /
www. springerlink. com/ content/ 575x64408lnk560j/ ). Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention 2 (4): 47–53.
doi:10.1361/152981502770351860. .
[67] Grill, Robert; Gnadenberge, Alfred (2006). "Niobium as mint metal: Production–properties–processing". International Journal of
Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 24 (4): 275–282. doi:10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2005.10.008.
[68] "25 Euro - 150 Years Semmering Alpine Railway (2004)" (http:/ / austrian-mint. at/ bimetallmuenzen?l=en& muenzeSubTypeId=113&
muenzeId=217). Austrian Mint. . Retrieved 2008-11-04.
[69] "150 Jahre Semmeringbahn" (http:/ / www. austrian-mint. at/ cms/ download. php?downloadId=131) (in German). Austrian Mint. .
Retrieved 2008-09-04.
[70] "Coin of Time" (http:/ / www. bank. lv/ eng/ main/ all/ lvnaud/ jubmon/ nmp/ time/ ). Bank of Latvia. . Retrieved 2008-09-19.
[71] "Coin of Time II" (http:/ / www. bank. lv/ eng/ main/ all/ lvnaud/ jubmon/ nmp/ time2/ ). Bank of Latvia. . Retrieved 2008-09-19.
[72] http:/ / www. mint. ca/ store/ coin/ 5-sterling-silver-and-niobium-coin-hunters-moon-2011-prod1110013
[73] Henderson, Stanley Thomas; Marsden, Alfred Michael; Hewitt, Harry (1972). Lamps and Lighting. Edward Arnold Press. pp. 244–245.
ISBN 0-7131-3267-1.
Niobium 29
[74] Eichelbrönner, G. (1998). "Refractory metals: crucial components for light sources". International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard
Materials 16 (1): 5–11. doi:10.1016/S0263-4368(98)00009-2.
[75] Michaluk, Christopher A.; Huber, Louis E.; Ford, Robert B. (2001). Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, Metals and Materials Society
Minerals. ed. "Niobium and Niobium 1% Zirconium for High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Discharge Lamps". Niobium Science & Technology:
Proceedings of the International Symposium Niobium 2001 (Orlando, Florida, USA) (Niobium 2001 Ltd, 2002). ISBN 9780971206809.
[76] US patent 5254836 (http:/ / worldwide. espacenet. com/ textdoc?DB=EPODOC& IDX=US5254836), Okada, Yuuji; Kobayashi, Toshihiko;
Sasabe, Hiroshi; Aoki, Yoshimitsu; Nishizawa, Makoto; Endo, Shunji, "Method of arc welding with a ferrite stainless steel welding rod",
issued 1993-10-19
[77] Vilaplana, J.; Romaguera, C.; Grimalt, F.; Cornellana, F. (1990). "New trends in the use of metals in jewellery". Contact Dermatitis 25 (3):
145–148. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.1991.tb01819.x. PMID 1782765.
[78] Vilaplana, J.; Romaguera, C. (1998). "New developments in jewellery and dental materials". Contact Dermatitis 39 (2): 55–57.
doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.1998.tb05832.x. PMID 9746182.
[79] Haley, Thomas J.; Komesu, N.; Raymond, K. (1962). "Pharmacology and toxicology of niobium chloride". Toxicology and Applied
Pharmacology 4 (3): 385–392. doi:10.1016/0041-008X(62)90048-0. PMID 13903824.
[80] Downs, William L.; Scott, James K.; Yuile, Charles L.; Caruso, Frank S.; Wong, Lawrence C. K. (1965). "The Toxicity of Niobium Salts"
(http:/ / www. informaworld. com/ smpp/ content~content=a789022664~db=all). American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal 26 (4):
337–346. doi:10.1080/00028896509342740. PMID 5854670. .
[81] Schroeder, Henry A.; Mitchener, Marian; Nason, Alexis P. (1 January 1970). "Zirconium, Niobium, Antimony, Vanadium and Lead in Rats:
Life term studies" (http:/ / jn. nutrition. org/ cgi/ content/ abstract/ 100/ 1/ 59). Journal of Nutrition 100 (1): 59–68. PMID 5412131. .
External links
• Los Alamos National Laboratory – Niobium (http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/41.html)
• WebElements.com – Niobium (http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Nb/index.html)
• Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (http://www.tanb.org/)
• Niobium for particle accelerators eg ILC. 2005 (http://www.symmetrymag.org/cms/?pid=1000173)
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Columbium". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Spectroscopically, the monochloride (NbCl) has been observed at high temperatures:Ram, R.S.; Rinskopf, N.;
Liévin, J.; Bernatha, P.F. (2004). "Fourier transform emission spectroscopy and ab initio calculations on NbCl"
(http://bernath.uwaterloo.ca/media/270.pdf). Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy 228: 544–553.
Bibcode 2004JMoSp.228..544R. doi:10.1016/j.jms.2004.02.001.
Tantalum 30
Tantalum
Tantalum
Appearance
gray blue
General properties
Name, symbol, number tantalum, Ta, 73
Pronunciation /ˈtæntələm/
tan-təl-əm;
previously /tænˈtæliəm/
tan-tal-ee-əm
Standard atomic weight 180.94788 g·mol

−1
Electron configuration 14
[Xe] 4f 5d 6s
3 2
Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 11, 2 (Image)
Physical properties
Phase solid
Density (near r.t.) 16.69 g·cm

−3
Liquid density at m.p. 15 g·cm−3
Heat of fusion 36.57 kJ·mol−1
Heat of vaporization 732.8 kJ·mol−1
Vapor pressure
P/Pa 1 10 100 1k 10 k 100 k
at T/K 3297 3597 3957 4395 4939 5634
Atomic properties
Oxidation states 5, 4, 3, 2, -1 (mildly acidic oxide)

Tantalum 31
Ionization energies 1st: 761 kJ·mol−1
2nd: 1500 kJ·mol−1
Miscellanea
Crystal structure α-Ta: body-centered cubic

[1]
β-Ta: tetragonal
Magnetic ordering [2]

paramagnetic
Thermal conductivity (300 K) 57.5 W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion (25 °C) 6.3 µm·m ·K

−1 −1
Poisson ratio 0.34
Mohs hardness 6.5
Vickers hardness 873 MPa
Brinell hardness 800 MPa

177
Ta syn 56.56 h ε 1.166 177
Hf
178
Ta syn 2.36 h ε 1.910 178
Hf
179
Ta syn 1.82 a ε 0.110 179
Hf
180
Ta syn 8.125 h ε 0.854 180
Hf
β− 0.708 180
W
180m
Ta 0.012% >1.2×1015 y ε 0.929 180
Hf
(not observed)
β− 0.783 180
W
IT 0.075 180
Ta
181
Ta 99.988% 181
Ta is stable with 108 neutron
182
Ta syn 114.43 d β− 1.814 182
W
183
Ta syn 5.1 d β− 1.070 183
W
Tantalum 32
Tantalum ( /ˈtæntələm/ tan-təl-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73.
Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a hero in Greek mythology.[3] Tantalum is a rare,
hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory metals group,
which are widely used as minor component in alloys. The chemical inertness of tantalum makes it a valuable
substance for laboratory equipment and a substitute for platinum, but its main use today is in tantalum capacitors in
electronic equipment such as mobile phones, DVD players, video game systems and computers. Tantalum, always
together with the chemically similar niobium, occurs in the minerals tantalite, columbite and coltan (a mix of
columbite and tantalite).
History
Tantalum was discovered in Sweden in 1802 by Anders Ekeberg. One year earlier, Charles Hatchett had discovered
the element columbium.[4] In 1809, the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston compared the oxides derived from
both columbium—columbite, with a density 5.918 g/cm3, and tantalum—tantalite, with a density 7.935 g/cm3, and
concluded that the two oxides, despite their difference in measured density, were identical. He decided to keep the
name tantalum.[5] After Friedrich Wöhler confirmed these results, it was thought that columbium and tantalum were
the same element. This conclusion was disputed in 1846 by the German chemist Heinrich Rose, who argued that
there were two additional elements in the tantalite sample, and he named them after the children of Tantalus:
niobium (from Niobe, the goddess of tears), and pelopium (from Pelops).[6] [7] The supposed element "pelopium"
was later identified as a mixture of tantalum and niobium, and it was found that the niobium was identical to the
columbium already discovered in 1801 by Hatchett.
The differences between tantalum and niobium were demonstrated unequivocally in 1864 by Christian Wilhelm
Blomstrand,[8] and Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville, as well as by Louis J. Troost, who determined the empirical
formulas of some of their compounds in 1865.[8] [9] Further confirmation came from the Swiss chemist Jean Charles
Galissard de Marignac,[10] in 1866, who proved that there were only two elements. These discoveries did not stop
scientists from publishing articles about the so-called ilmenium until 1871.[11] De Marignac was the first to produce
the metallic form of tantalum in 1864, when he reduced tantalum chloride by heating it in an atmosphere of
hydrogen.[12] Early investigators had been only able to produce impure tantalum, and the first relatively pure ductile
metal was produced by Werner von Bolton in 1903. Wires made with metallic tantalum were used for light bulb
filaments until tungsten replaced it in widespread use.[13]
The name tantalum was derived from the name of the mythological Tantalus, the father of Niobe in Greek
mythology. In the story, he had been punished after death by being condemned to stand knee-deep in water with
perfect fruit growing above his head, both of which eternally tantalized him. (If he bent to drink the water, it drained
below the level he could reach, and if he reached for the fruit, the branches moved out of his grasp.)[14] Ekeberg
wrote "This metal I call tantalum … partly in allusion to its incapacity, when immersed in acid, to absorb any and be
saturated."[15]
For decades, the commercial technology for separating tantalum from niobium involved the fractional crystallization
of potassium heptafluorotantalate away from potassium oxypentafluoroniobate monohydrate, a process that was
discovered by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in 1866. This method has been supplanted by solvent extraction
from fluoride-containing solutions of tantalum.[9]
Tantalum 33
Characteristics
Physical properties
Tantalum is dark (blue-gray),[16] dense, ductile, very hard, easily fabricated, and highly conductive of heat and
electricity. The metal is renowned for its resistance to corrosion by acids; in fact, at temperatures below 150 °C
tantalum is almost completely immune to attack by the normally aggressive aqua regia. It can be dissolved with
hydrofluoric acid or acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion and sulfur trioxide, as well as with a solution of
potassium hydroxide. Tantalum's high melting point of 3017 °C (boiling point 5458 °C) is exceeded only by
tungsten, rhenium and osmium for metals, and carbon.
Tantalum exists in two crystalline phases, alpha and beta. The alpha phase is relatively ductile and soft; it has
body-centered cubic structure (space group Im3m, lattice constant a = 0.33058 nm), Knoop hardness 200–400 HN
and electrical resistivity 15–60 µΩּcm. The beta phase is hard and brittle; its crystal symmetry is tetragonal (space
group P42/mnm, a = 1.0194 nm, c = 0.5313 nm), Knoop hardness is 1000–1300 HN and electrical resistivity is
relatively high at 170–210 µΩּcm. The beta phase is metastable and converts to the alpha phase upon heating to
750–775 °C. Bulk tantalum is almost entirely alpha phase, and the beta phase usually exists as thin films obtained by
magnetron sputtering, chemical vapor deposition or electrochemical deposition from an eutectic molten salt
solution.[17]
Chemical properties
Tantalum forms oxides with the oxidation states +5 (Ta2O5) and +4 (TaO2).[18] The most stable oxidation state is +5,
tantalum pentoxide.[18] Tantalum pentoxide is the starting material for several tantalum compounds. The compounds
are created by dissolving the pentoxide in basic hydroxide solutions or by melting it in another metal oxide. Such
examples are lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) and lanthanum tantalate (LaTaO4). In the lithium tantalate, the tantalate ion
TaO3− does not occur; instead, this part of the formula represents linkage of TaO67− octahedra to form a
three-dimensional perovskite framework; while the lanthanum tantalate contains lone TaO43− tetrahedral groups.[18]
The fluorides of tantalum can be used for its separation from niobium.[19] Tantalum forms halogen compounds in the
oxidation states of +5, +4, and +3 of the type TaX5, TaX4, and TaX3, although multi core complexes and
substoichiometric compounds are also known.[18] [20] Tantalum pentafluoride (TaF5) is a white solid with a melting
point of 97.0 °C and tantalum pentachloride (TaCl5) is a white solid with a melting point of 247.4 °C. Tantalum
pentachloride is hydrolyzed by water and reacts with additional tantalum at elevated temperatures by forming the
black and highly hygroscopic tantalum tetrachloride (TaCl4). While the trihalogen compounds can be obtained by
reduction of the pentahalogenes with hydrogen, the dihalogen compounds do not exist.[18] A tantalum-tellurium
alloy forms quasicrystals.[18] Tantalum compounds with oxidation states as low as −1 have been reported in 2008.[21]
Similar to most other refractory metals, the hardest known compounds of tantalum are its stable nitrides and
carbides. Tantalum carbide, TaC, like the more commonly used tungsten carbide, is a very hard ceramic that is used
in cutting tools. Tantalum(III) nitride is used as a thin film insulator in some microelectronic fabrication
processes.[22] Chemists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States have developed a tantalum
carbide-graphite composite material that is one of the hardest materials ever synthesized. Korean researchers have
developed an amorphous tantalum-tungsten-copper alloy that is more flexible and two to three times stronger than
commonly used steel alloys.[23] There are two tantalum aluminides, TaAl3 and Ta3Al. These are stable, refractory,
and reflective, and they have been proposed[24] as coatings for use in infrared wave mirrors.
Tantalum 34
Isotopes
Natural tantalum consists of two isotopes: 180mTa (0.012%) and 181Ta (99.988%). 181Ta is a stable isotope. 180mTa
(m denotes a metastable state) is predicted to decay in three ways: isomeric transition to the ground state of 180Ta,
beta decay to 180W, or electron capture to 180Hf. However, radioactivity of this nuclear isomer has never been
observed. Only a lower limit on its half life of over 1015 years has been set. The ground state of 180Ta has a half life
of only 8 hours. 180mTa is the only naturally occurring nuclear isomer (excluding radiogenic and cosmogenic
short-living nuclides). It is also the rarest isotope in the Universe, taking into account the elemental abundance of
tantalum and isotopic abundance of 180mTa in the natural mixture of isotopes (and again excluding radiogenic and
cosmogenic short-living nuclides).[25]
Tantalum has been examined theoretically as a "salting" material for nuclear weapons (cobalt is the better-known
hypothetical salting material). An external shell of 181Ta would be irradiated by the intensive high-energy neutron
flux from a hypothetical exploding nuclear weapon. This would transmute the tantalum into the radioactive isotope
182
Ta, which has a half-life of 114.4 days and produces gamma rays with approximately 1.12 million electron-volts
(MeV) of energy apiece, which would significantly increase the radioactivity of the nuclear fallout from the
explosion for several months. Such "salted" weapons have never been built or tested, as far as is publicly known, and
certainly never used as weapons.[26]
Occurrence
Tantalum is estimated to make up about 1 ppm[27] or 2 ppm[20] of the
Earth's crust by weight. There are many species of tantalum minerals,
only some of which are so far being used by industry as raw materials:
tantalite, microlite, wodginite, euxenite, polycrase. Tantalite (Fe,Mn)
Ta2O6 is the most important mineral for tantalum extraction. Tantalite
has the same mineral structure as columbite (Fe,Mn) (Ta,Nb)2O6;
when there is more Ta than Nb it is called tantalite and when there is
more Nb than Ta is it called columbite (or niobite). The high density of
tantalite and other tantalum containing minerals makes the use of
gravitational separation the best method. Other minerals include
Tantalite, Pilbara district, Australia
samarskite and fergusonite.
The primary mining of tantalum is in Australia, where the largest

producer, Global Advanced Metals, formerly known as Talison Minerals, operates two mines in Western Australia,
Greenbushes in the Southwest and Wodgina in the Pilbara region. The Wodgina mine was reopened in January 2011
after mining at the site was suspended in late-2008 due to the global financial crisis.[28] This mine produces a
primary tantalum concentrate which is further upgraded at the Greenbushes operation before being sold to
customers.[29] Whereas the large-scale producers of niobium are in Brazil and Canada, the ore there also yields a
small percentage of tantalum. Some other countries such as China, Ethiopia, and Mozambique mine ores with a
higher percentage of tantalum, and they produce a significant percentage of the world's output of it. Tantalum is also
produced in Thailand and Malaysia as a by-product of the tin mining there. During gravitational separation of the
ores from placer deposits, not only is Cassiterite (SnO2) found, but a small percentage of tantalite also included. The
slag from the tin smelters then contains economically useful amounts of tantalum, which is leached from the slag.[9]
[30]
Future sources of supply of tantalum, in order of estimated size, are being explored in Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Greenland, China, Mozambique, Canada, Australia, the United States, Finland, and Brazil.[31] [32]
Coltan, the industrial name for a columbite–tantalite mineral from which columbium (i.e. niobium) and tantalum are
extracted,[33] can also be found in Central Africa, which is why tantalum is being linked to the war in the Congo.
According to an October 23, 2003 United Nations report,[34] the smuggling and exportation of coltan has helped fuel
Tantalum 35
the war in the Congo, a crisis that has resulted in approximately 5.4 million deaths since 1998[35] – making it the
world’s deadliest documented conflict since World War II. Ethical questions have been raised about responsible
corporate behavior, human rights, and endangering wildlife, due to the exploitation of resources such as coltan in the
armed conflict regions of the Congo Basin.[36] [37] [38] [39] However, although important for the local economy in
Congo, the coltan mining in Congo is not important for the world supply of tantalum. The United States Geological
Survey reports in its 2006 yearbook that this region produced a little less than 1% of the world's tantalum output for
the past four years, peaking at 10% in 2000 and 2008.[30]
Production and fabrication

Several steps are involved in the extraction of tantalum from tantalite. First, the mineral is crushed and concentrated
by gravity separation. This is generally carried out near the mine site. Further processing by chemical separation is
usually done by treating the ores with a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid at over 90 °C. These reagents
dissolve the tantalum and niobium oxides to give complex fluorides, which can be separated from impurities and
from each other:
Ta2O5 + 14 HF → 2 H2[TaF7] + 5 H2O
Nb2O5 + 10 HF → 2 H2[NbOF5] + 3 H2O
The first industrial-scale separation, developed by de Marignac, used the difference in solubility between the
complex niobium and tantalum fluorides K2[NbOF5]•H2O (potassium oxypentafluoroniobate monohydrate) and
K2[TaF7] (potassium heptafluorotantalate) in water. Newer processes use the liquid extraction of the fluorides from
aqueous solution by organic solvents such as cyclohexanone.[19] The complex niobium and tantalum fluorides are
extracted separately from the organic solvent with water, and either precipitated by the addition of potassium
fluoride to produce a potassium fluoride complex, or precipitated with ammonia as the pentoxide:[18]
H2[TaF7] + 2 KF → K2[TaF7]↓ + 2 HF
2 H2[TaF7] + 14 NH4OH → Ta2O5↓ + 14 NH4F + 9 H2O
The purified K2[TaF7] is generally treated by reduction with molten sodium to produce a coarse tantalum powder.[40]
In terms of fabrication, all welding of tantalum must be done in an inert atmosphere of argon or helium in order to
shield it from contamination with atmospheric gases. Tantalum is not solderable. Grinding tantalum is difficult,
especially so for annealed tantalum. In the annealed condition, tantalum is extremely ductile and can be readily
formed as metal sheets.[41]
Tantalum 36
Applications
Electronics
The major use for tantalum, as the metal powder, is in the production of
electronic components, mainly capacitors and some high-power resistors.
Tantalum electrolytic capacitors exploit the tendency of tantalum to form a
protective oxide surface layer, using tantalum powder, pressed into a pellet
shape, as one "plate" of the capacitor, the oxide as the dielectric, and an
electrolytic solution or conductive solid as the other "plate". Because the
dielectric layer can be very thin (thinner than the similar layer in, for instance, an
aluminium electrolytic capacitor), a high capacitance can be achieved in a small
volume. Because of the size and weight advantages, tantalum capacitors are
attractive for portable telephones, personal computers, and automotive
electronics.[42]
Tantalum electrolytic capacitor
Alloys
Tantalum is also used to produce a variety of alloys that have high melting points, are strong and have good ductility.
Alloyed with other metals, it is also used in making carbide tools for metalworking equipment and in the production
of superalloys for jet engine components, chemical process equipment, nuclear reactors, and missile parts.[42] [43]
Because of its ductility, tantalum can be drawn into fine wires or filaments, which are used for evaporating metals
such as aluminium. Since it resists attack by body fluids and is nonirritating, tantalum is widely used in making
surgical instruments and implants. For example, porous tantalum coatings are used in the construction of orthopedic
implants due to tantalum's ability to form a direct bond to hard tissue.[44]
Tantalum is inert against most acids except hydrofluoric acid and hot sulfuric acid, also hot alkaline solutions cause
tantalum to corrode. This property makes it an ideal metal for chemical reaction vessels and pipes for corrosive
liquids. Heat exchanging coils for the steam heating of hydrochloric acid are made from tantalum.[45] Tantalum was
extensively used in the production of ultra high frequency electron tubes for radio transmitters. The tantalum is
capable of capturing oxygen and nitrogen by forming nitrides and oxides and therefore helps to sustain the high
vacuum needed for the tubes.[19] [45]
Other uses
The oxide is used to make special high refractive index glass for camera lenses.[46] The high melting point and
oxidation resistance lead to the use of the metal in the production of vacuum furnace parts. Due to its high density,
shaped charge and explosively formed penetrator liners have been constructed from tantalum.[47] Tantalum greatly
increases the armor penetration capabilities of a shaped charge due to its high density and high melting point.[48] [49]
It is also occasionally used in precious watches e.g. from Audemars Piguet, Hublot, Montblanc and Panerai.
Tantalum is also highly bioinert and is used as an orthopedic implant material.[50]
Precautions
Compounds containing tantalum are rarely encountered in the laboratory. The metal is highly biocompatible and is
used for body implants and coatings, therefore attention may be focused on other elements or the physical nature of
the chemical compound.[51] A single study[52] is the only reference in literature linking tantalum to local sarcomas.
The study was quoted in IARC Monograph vol. 74 which includes the following "Note to the reader": "Inclusion of
an agent in the Monographs does not imply that it is a carcinogen, only that the published data have been
examined."[53]
Tantalum 37
References
[1] Moseley, P. T.; Seabrook, C. J. (1973). "The crystal structure of β-tantalum". Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Crystallography
and Crystal Chemistry 29 (5): 1170–1171. doi:10.1107/S0567740873004140.
[2] Magnetic susceptibility of the elements and inorganic compounds (http:/ / www-d0. fnal. gov/ hardware/ cal/ lvps_info/ engineering/
elementmagn. pdf), in Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 81st edition, CRC press.
[3] Euripides, Orestes
[4] Griffith, William P.; Morris, Peter J. T. (2003). "Charles Hatchett FRS (1765-1847), Chemist and Discoverer of Niobium". Notes and
Records of the Royal Society of London 57 (3): 299. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2003.0216. JSTOR 3557720.
[5] Wollaston, William Hyde (1809). "On the Identity of Columbium and Tantalum". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
99: 246–252. doi:10.1098/rstl.1809.0017. JSTOR 107264.
[6] Rose, Heinrich (1844). "Ueber die Zusammensetzung der Tantalite und ein im Tantalite von Baiern enthaltenes neues Metall" (http:/ / gallica.
bnf. fr/ ark:/ 12148/ bpt6k15148n/ f327. table) (in German). Annalen der Physik 139 (10): 317–341. Bibcode 1844AnP...139..317R.
doi:10.1002/andp.18441391006. .
[7] Rose, Heinrich (1847). "Ueber die Säure im Columbit von Nordamérika" (http:/ / gallica. bnf. fr/ ark:/ 12148/ bpt6k15155x/ f586. table) (in
German). Annalen der Physik 146 (4): 572–577. Bibcode 1847AnP...146..572R. doi:10.1002/andp.18471460410. .
[8] Marignac, Blomstrand, H. Deville, L. Troost und R. Hermann (1866). "Tantalsäure, Niobsäure, (Ilmensäure) und Titansäure". Fresenius'
Journal of Analytical Chemistry 5 (1): 384–389. doi:10.1007/BF01302537.
[9] Gupta, C. K.; Suri, A. K. (1994). Extractive Metallurgy of Niobium. CRC Press. ISBN 0849360714.
[10] Marignac, M. C. (1866). "Recherches sur les combinaisons du niobium" (http:/ / gallica. bnf. fr/ ark:/ 12148/ bpt6k34818t/ f4. table) (in
French). Annales de chimie et de physique 4 (8): 7–75. .
[11] Hermann, R. (1871). "Fortgesetzte Untersuchungen über die Verbindungen von Ilmenium und Niobium, sowie über die Zusammensetzung
der Niobmineralien (Further research about the compounds of ilmenium and niobium, as well as the composition of niobium minerals)" (in
German). Journal für Praktische Chemie 3 (1): 373–427. doi:10.1002/prac.18710030137.
[12] "Niobium" (http:/ / nautilus. fis. uc. pt/ st2. 5/ scenes-e/ elem/ e04100. html). Universidade de Coimbra. . Retrieved 2008-09-05.
[13] Bowers, B. (2001). "Scanning Our Past from London The Filament Lamp and New Materials". Proceedings of the IEEE 89 (3): 413.
doi:10.1109/5.915382.
[14] Aycan, Mugla, Sule (2005). "Chemistry Education and Mythology". Journal of Social Sciences 1 (4): 238– 239.
doi:10.3844/jssp.2005.238.239.
[15] Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 1138.
ISBN 0080379419.
[16] Colakis, Marianthe; Masello, Mary Joan (2007-06-30). "Tantalum" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=5o3Lr2Swz8sC& pg=PA204).
Classical Mythology & More: A Reader Workbook. ISBN 9780865165731. .
[17] Lee, S (2004). "Texture, structure and phase transformation in sputter beta tantalum coating". Surface and Coatings Technology 177-178:
44. doi:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2003.06.008.
[18] Holleman, A. F., Wiberg, E., Wiberg, N. (2007). Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie, 102nd ed.. de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-017770-1.
[19] Soisson, Donald J.; McLafferty, J. J.; Pierret, James A. (1961). "Staff-Industry Collaborative Report: Tantalum and Niobium". Ind. Eng.
Chem. 53 (11): 861–868. doi:10.1021/ie50623a016.
[20] Agulyansky, Anatoly (2004). The Chemistry of Tantalum and Niobium Fluoride Compounds (http:/ / books. google. com/
?id=Z-4QXNB5Hp8C). Elsevier. ISBN 9780444516046. . Retrieved 2008-09-02.
[21] Morse, P. M. et al. (2008). "Ethylene Complexes of the Early Transition Metals: Crystal Structures of [HfEt4(C2H4)2− ] and the
Negative-Oxidation-State Species [TaHEt(C2H4)] and [WH(C2H4)]". Organometallics 27 (5): 984. doi:10.1021/om701189e.
[22] Tsukimoto, S.; Moriyama, M.; Murakami, Masanori (1961). "Microstructure of amorphous tantalum nitride thin films". Thin Solid Films
460 (1-2): 222–226. Bibcode 2004TSF...460..222T. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2004.01.073.
[23] Arirang, TV (2005-05-06). "Researchers Develop New Alloy" (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080328220843/ http:/ / english. chosun.
com/ w21data/ html/ news/ 200505/ 200505060005. html). Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea.
Archived from the original (http:/ / english. chosun. com/ w21data/ html/ news/ 200505/ 200505060005. html) on March 28, 2008. . Retrieved
2008-12-22.
[24] Braun, Hilarion "Substance for front surface mirror" U.S. Patent 5923464 (http:/ / www. google. com/ patents?vid=5923464), Issued on July
13, 1999
[26] Win, David Tin; Masum, Al (2003) (PDF). Weapons of Mass Destruction (http:/ / www. journal. au. edu/ au_techno/ 2003/ apr2003/
aujt6-4_article07. pdf). 6. pp. 199– 219. .
[27] Emsley, John (2001). "Tantalum". Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press.
p. 420. ISBN 0198503407.
[28] "Talison Tantalum eyes mid-2011 Wodgina restart 2010-06-09" (http:/ / af. reuters. com/ article/ drcNews/ idAFLDE6530TW20100609).
Reuters. 2010-06-09. . Retrieved 2010-08-27.
Tantalum 38
[29] "Wodgina Operations" (http:/ / www. globaladvancedmetals. com/ operations/ wodgina. aspx). Global Advanced Metals. 2008. . Retrieved
2011-03-28.
[30] Papp, John F. (2006). "2006 Minerals Yearbook Nb & Ta" (http:/ / minerals. usgs. gov/ minerals/ pubs/ commodity/ niobium/ #pubs). US
Geological Survey. . Retrieved 2008-06-03.
[31] "Tantalum supplement" (http:/ / www. noventa. net/ pdf/ presentations/ tanatalumSCR_presentation. pdf) (PDF). Mining Journal.
2007-November. . Retrieved 2008-06-03.
[32] "International tantalum resources — exploration and mining" (http:/ / www. doir. wa. gov. au/ documents/ gswa/ gsdMRB_22_chap10. pdf)
(pdf). GSWA Mineral Resources Bulletin 22 (10). .
[33] Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center: Coltan (http:/ / www. tanb. org/ coltan) Retrieved 2008-01-27
[34] "S/2003/1027" (http:/ / www. un. org/ Docs/ journal/ asp/ ws. asp?m=S/ 2003/ 1027). 2003-10-26. . Retrieved 2008-04-19.
[35] "Special Report: Congo" (http:/ / www. theirc. org/ special-report/ congo-forgotten-crisis. html). International Rescue Committee. .
Retrieved 2008-04-19.
[36] Hayes, Karen; Burge, Richard. Coltan Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo: How tantalum-using industries can commit to the
reconstruction of the DRC. 1–64. ISBN 1903703107.
[37] "Congo's Bloody Coltan" (http:/ / www. pulitzercenter. org/ openitem. cfm?id=177). . Retrieved 2009-08-08.
[38] "Congo War and the Role of Coltan" (http:/ / www1. american. edu/ ted/ ice/ congo-coltan. htm). . Retrieved 2009-08-08.
[39] "Coltan mining in the Congo River Basin" (http:/ / www. panda. org/ what_we_do/ where_we_work/ congo_basin_forests/ problems/
mining/ coltan_mining/ ). . Retrieved 2009-08-08.
[40] "Extraction/refining" (http:/ / tanb. org/ tantalum). T.I.C.. . Retrieved 2009-07-07.
[41] "Machining Tantalum" (http:/ / www. eaglealloys. com/ t-MachiningTantalum. aspx). . Retrieved June 16, 2011.
[42] "Commodity Report 2008: Tantalum" (http:/ / minerals. usgs. gov/ minerals/ pubs/ commodity/ niobium/ mcs-2008-tanta. pdf) (PDF).
United States Geological Survey. . Retrieved 2008-10-24.
[43] Buckman Jr., R. W. (2000). "New applications for tantalum and tantalum alloys". JOM Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials
Society 52 (3): 40. Bibcode 2000JOM....52c..40B. doi:10.1007/s11837-000-0100-6.
[44] Cohen, R. (2006). "Applications of porous tantalum in total hip arthroplasty". Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
14: 646.
[45] Balke, Clarence W.. "Columbium and Tantalum". Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 20 (10): 1166.
[46] Musikant, Solomon (1985). "Optical Glas Composition" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=iJEXMF3JBtQC& pg=PA28). Optical Materials:
An Introduction to Selection and Application. CRC Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780824773090. .
[47] Nemat-Nasser, Sia; Isaacs, Jon B.; Liu, Mingqi (1998). "Microstructure of high-strain, high-strain-rate deformed tantalum". Acta Materialia
46: 1307. doi:10.1016/S1359-6454(97)00746-5.
[48] Walters, William; Cooch, William; Burkins, Matthew (2001). "The penetration resistance of a titanium alloy against jets from tantalum
shaped charge liners". International Journal of Impact Engineering 26: 823. doi:10.1016/S0734-743X(01)00135-X.
[49] Russell, Alan M.; Lee, Kok Loong (2005). Structure-property relations in nonferrous metals (http:/ / books. google. com/
?id=fIu58uZTE-gC& pg=PA129& lpg=PP128#PPA218). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Interscience. p. 218. ISBN 9780471649526. .
[50] Black, J. (1994). "Biological performance of tantalum". Clin Mater. 16 (3): 167–173. doi:10.1016/0267-6605(94)90113-9. PMID 10172264.
[51] Matsuno H, Yokoyama A, Watari F, Uo M, Kawasaki T. (2001). "Biocompatibility and osteogenesis of refractory metal implants, titanium,
hafnium, niobium, tantalum and rhenium. Biocompatibility of tantalum". Biomaterials 22: 1253. doi:10.1016/S0142-9612(00)00275-1.
PMID 11336297.
[52] Oppenheimer, B.S.; Oppenheimer, E.T.; Danishefsky, I.; Stout, A.P. (1956). "Carcinogenic effects of metals in rodent" (http:/ / cancerres.
aacrjournals. org/ cgi/ reprint/ 16/ 5/ 439. pdf). Cancer Research 16 (5): 439. PMID 13330036. .
[53] "Surgical implants and other foreign bodies" (http:/ / www. inchem. org/ documents/ iarc/ vol74/ implants. html). IARC. 1999. . Retrieved
2009-06-03.
External links
• WebElements.com: Tantalum (http://www.webelements.com/tantalum/)
• Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (http://tanb.org/)
Dubnium 39
Dubnium
Dubnium
Appearance
Unknown
General properties
Name, symbol, number dubnium, Db, 105
Pronunciation /ˈduːbniəm/
doob-nee-əm
Standard atomic weight [268] g·mol

−1
Electron configuration 14
[Rn] 5f 6d 7s
3 2
(predicted)
Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 11, 2

(predicted) (Image)
Physical properties
Phase Unknown
Atomic properties
Oxidation states 5
Miscellanea

[1] [2]
262
Db syn 34 s 67% α 8.66,8.45 258
Lr
33% SF
[2]
263
Db syn 27 s 56% SF
41% α 8.36 259

Lr
3% ε 263m
Rf
[2]
266
Db syn 22 m SF
ε 266
Rf
[2]
267
Db syn 1.2 h SF
[2]
268
Db syn 29 h SF
ε 268
Rf
[3]
270
Db syn 23.15 h SF
only half times of over 5 seconds are included here

Dubnium 40
Dubnium ( /ˈduːbniəm/ doob-nee-əm),[4] is a chemical element with the symbol Db and atomic number 105,
named after the town of Dubna in Russia, where it was first produced. It is a synthetic element (an element that can
be created in a laboratory but is not found in nature) and radioactive; the most stable known isotope, dubnium-268,
has a half-life of approximately 28 hours.[5]
In the periodic table of the elements, it is a d-block element and in the transactinide elements. It is a member of the
7th period and belongs to the group 5 element. Chemistry experiments have confirmed that dubnium behaves as the
heavier homologue to tantalum in group 5. The chemical properties of dubnium are characterized only partly. They
are similar with those of other group 5 elements.
In the 1960s, microscopic amounts of dubnium were produced in laboratories in the former Soviet Union and in
California. The priority of the discovery and therefore the naming of the element was disputed between Soviet and
American scientists, and it was not until 1997 that International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
established Soviet team priority and a compromise name of dubnium as the official name for the element.
History
Discovery
Dubnium was reportedly first discovered in 1968 at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna (then in the
Soviet Union). Researchers there bombarded an americium-243target with neon-22 ions. They reported a 9.40 MeV
and a 9.70 MeV alpha-activity and assigned the decays to the isotope 260Db or 261Db:
Am + Ne → Db + x n
Two years later the Dubna team separated their reaction products by gradient thermchromatography after conversion
to chlorides by interaction with NbCl5. The team identified a 2.2 secondspontaneous fission activity contained within
a volitile chloride portraying eka-tantalum properties, likely dubnium-261 pentachloride, 261DbCl5.
In the same year, a team led by Albert Ghiorso working at the University of California, Berkeleyconclusively
synthesized the element by bombarding a californium-249 target with nitrogen-15 ions. published a convincing
synthesis of 260Db in the reaction between californium-249 target andnitrogen-15 ions and measured the alpha decay
of 260Db with a half-life of 1.6 seconds and a decay energy of 9.10 MeV, correlated with the daughter decay of
lawrencium-256:
Cf + N→ Db + 4 n
These results by the Berkeley scientists did not confirm the Soviet findings regarding the 9.40 MeV or 9.70 MeV
alpha-decay of dubnium-260, leaving only dubnium-261 as possible produced isotope. In 1971, the Dubna team
repeated their reaction using an improved set-up and were able to confirm the decay data for260Db using the
reaction:
Am + Ne → Db + 5 n
In 1976, the Dubna team continued their study of the reaction using thermal gradient chromatography and were able
to identify the product as dubnium-260 pentabromide, 260DbBr5.
In 1992 the IUPAC/IUPAP Transfermium Working Group assessed the claims of the two groups and concluded that
confidence in the discovery grew from results from both laboratories and the claim of discovery should be shared.[6]
Dubnium 41
Naming controversy
The Soviet (later, Russian) team proposed the name nielsbohrium (Ns) in honor of the Danish nuclear physicist Niels
Bohr. The American team proposed that the new element should be named hahnium (Ha), in honor of the late
German chemist Otto Hahn. Consequently hahnium was the name that most American and Western European
scientists used and appears in many papers published at the time, and nielsbohrium was used in the Soviet Union and
Eastern Bloc countries.
An element naming controversy erupted between the two groups. The International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry (IUPAC) thus adopted unnilpentium (Unp) as a temporary, systematic element name. Attempting to
resolve the issue, in 1994, the IUPAC proposed the name joliotium (Jl), after the French physicist Frédéric
Joliot-Curie, which was originally proposed by Soviet team for element 102, later named nobelium. The two
principal claimants still disagreed about the names of elements 104-106. However, in 1997 they resolved the dispute
and adopted the current name, dubnium (Db), after the Russian town of Dubna, the location of the Joint Institute for
Nuclear Research. It was argued by IUPAC that the Berkeley laboratory had already been recognized several times
in the naming of elements (i.e., berkelium, californium, americium) and that the acceptance of the names
rutherfordium and seaborgium for elements 104 and 106 should be offset by recognizing the Russian team's
contributions to the discovery of elements 104, 105 and 106.[7] [8]
Chemical properties
Extrapolated properties
Element 105 is projected to be the second member of the 6d series of transition metals and the heaviest member of
group V in the Periodic Table, below vanadium, niobium and tantalum. Because it is positioned right below
tantalum, it may also be called eka-tantalum. All the members of the group readily portray their oxidation state of +5
and the state becomes more stable as the group is descended. Thus dubnium is expected to form a stable +5 state. For
this group, +4 and +3 states are also known for the heavier members and dubnium may also form these reducing
oxidation states.
In an extrapolation of the chemistries from niobium and tantalum, dubnium should react with oxygen to form an
inert pentoxide, Db2O5. In alkali, the formation of an orthodubnate complex, DbO43−, is expected. Reaction with the
halogens should readily form the pentahalides, DbX5. The pentachlorides of niobium and tantalum exist as volatile
solids or monomeric trigonal bipyramidal molecules in the vapour phase. Thus, DbCl5 is expected to be a volatile
solid. Similarly, the pentafluoride, DbF5, should be even more volatile. Hydrolysis of the halides is known to readily
form the oxyhalides, MOX3. Thus the halides DbX5 should react with water to form DbOX3. The reaction with
Dubnium 42
fluoride ion is also well known for the lighter homologues and dubnium is expected to form a range of
fluoro-complexes. In particular, reaction of the pentafluoride with HF should form a hexafluorodubnate ion, DbF6–.
Excess fluoride should lead to DbF72– and DbOF52–. If eka-tantalum properties are portrayed, higher concentrations
of fluoride should ultimately form DbF83– since NbF83– is not known.
Experimental chemistry
The chemistry of dubnium has been studied for several years using gas thermochromatography. The experiments
have studied the relative adsorption characteristics of isotopes of niobium, tantalum and dubnium radioisotopes. The
results have indicated the formation of typical group 5 halides and oxyhalides, namely DbCl5, DbBr5, DbOCl3 and
DbOBr3. Reports on these early experiments usually refer to dubnium as hahnium.
Formula Names(s)
DbCl5 dubnium pentachloride ; dubnium(V) chloride
DbBr5 dubnium pentabromide ; dubnium(V) bromide
DbOCl3 dubnium oxychloride ; dubnium(V) trichloride oxide ; dubnyl(V) chloride
DbOBr3 dubnium oxybromide ; dubnium(V) tribromide oxide ; dubnyl(V) bromide
Nucleosynthesis history
Cold fusion
This section deals with the synthesis of nuclei of dubnium by so-called "cold" fusion reactions. These are processes
which create compound nuclei at low excitation energy (~10-20 MeV, hence "cold"), leading to a higher probability
of survival from fission. The excited nucleus then decays to the ground state via the emission of one or two neutrons
only.
209
Bi(50Ti,xn)259-xDb (x=1,2,3)
The first attempts to synthesise dubnium using cold fusion reactions were performed in 1976 by the team at FLNR,
Dubna using the above reaction. They were able to detect a 5 s spontaneous fission (SF) activity which they assigned
to 257Db. This assignment was later corrected to 258Db. In 1981, the team at GSI studied this reaction using the
improved technique of correlation of genetic parent-daughter decays. They were able to positively identify 258Db,
the product from the 1n neutron evaporation channel.[9] In 1983, the team at Dubna revisited the reaction using the
method of identification of a descendant using chemical separation. They succeeded in measuring alpha decays from
known descendants of the decay chain beginning with 258Db. This was taken as providing some evidence for the
formation of dubnium nuclei. The team at GSI revisited the reaction in 1985 and were able to detect 10 atoms of
257
Db.[10] After a significant upgrade of their facilities in 1993, in 2000 the team measured 120 decays of 257Db, 16
decays of 256Db and decay of 258Db in the measurement of the 1n, 2n and 3n excitation functions. The data gathered
for 257Db allowed a first spectroscopic study of this isotope and identified an isomer, 257mDb, and a first
determination of a decay level structure for 257Db.[11] The reaction was used in spectroscopic studies of isotopes of
mendelevium and einsteinium in 2003-2004.[12]
209
Bi(49Ti,xn)258-xDb (x=2?)
This reaction was studied by Yuri Oganessian and the team at Dubna in 1983. They observed a 2.6 s SF activity
tentatively assigned to 256Db. Later results suggest a possible reassignment to 256Rf, resulting from the ~30% EC
branch in 256Db.
209
Bi(48Ti,xn)257-xDb (x=1?)
Dubnium 43
This reaction was studied by Yuri Oganessian and the team at Dubna in 1983. They observed a 1.6 s activity with a
~80% alpha branch with a ~20% SF branch. The activity was tentatively assigned to 255Db. Later results suggest a
reassignment to 256Db.
208
Pb(51V,xn)259-xDb (x=1,2)
The team at Dubna also studied this reaction in 1976 and were again able to detect the 5 s SF activity, first
tentatively assigned to 257Db and later to 258Db. In 2006, the team at LBNL reinvestigated this reaction as part of
their odd-Z projectile program. They were able to detect 258Db and 257Db in their measurement of the 1n and 2n
neutron evaporation channels.[13]
207
Pb(51V,xn)258-xDb
The team at Dubna also studied this reaction in 1976 but this time they were unable to detect the 5 s SF activity, first
tentatively assigned to 257Db and later to 258Db. Instead, they were able to measure a 1.5 s SF activity, tentatively
assigned to 255Db.
205
Tl(54Cr,xn)259-xDb (x=1?)
The team at Dubna also studied this reaction in 1976 and were again able to detect the 5 s SF activity, first
tentatively assigned to 257Db and later to 258Db.
Hot fusion
This section deals with the synthesis of nuclei of dubnium by so-called "hot" fusion reactions. These are processes
which create compound nuclei at high excitation energy (~40-50 MeV, hence "hot"), leading to a reduced
probability of survival from fission and quasi-fission. The excited nucleus then decays to the ground state via the
emission of 3-5 neutrons.
232
Th(31P,xn)263-xDb (x=5)
There are very limited reports that this rare reaction using a P-31 beam was studied in 1989 by Andreyev et al. at the
FLNR. One source suggests that no atoms were detected whilst a better source from the Russians themselves
indicates that 258Db was synthesised in the 5n channel with a yield of 120 pb.
238
U(27Al,xn)265-xDb (x=4,5)
In 2006, as part of their study of the use of uranium targets in superheavy element synthesis, the LBNL team led by
Ken Gregorich studied the excitation functions for the 4n and 5n channels in this new reaction.[14]
236
U(27Al,xn)263-xDb (x=5,6)
This reaction was first studied by Andreyev et al. at the FLNR, Dubna in 1992. They were able to observe 258Db and
257
Db in the 5n and 6n exit channels with yields of 450 pb and 75 pb, respectively.[15]
243
Am(22Ne,xn)265-xDb (x=5)
The first attempts to synthesis dubnium were performed in 1968 by the team at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear
Reactions (FLNR) in Dubna, Russia. They observed two alpha lines which they tentatively assigned to 261Db and
260
Db. They repeated their experiment in 1970 looking for spontaneous fission. They found a 2.2 s SF activity which
they assigned to 261Db. In 1970, the Dubna team began work on using gradient thermochromatography in order to
detect dubnium in chemical experiments as a volatile chloride. In their first run they detected a volatile SF activity
with similar adsorption properties to NbCl5 and unlike HfCl4. This was taken to indicate the formation of nuclei of
dvi-niobium as DbCl5. In 1971, they repeated the chemistry experiment using higher sensitivity and observed alpha
decays from an dvi-niobium component, taken to confirm the formation of 260105. The method was repeated in 1976
using the formation of bromides and obtained almost identical results, indicating the formation of a volatile,
dvi-niobium-like [105]Br5.
241
Am(22Ne,xn)263-xDb (x=4,5)
Dubnium 44
In 2000, Chinese scientists at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP), Lanzhou, announced the discovery of the
previously unknown isotope 259Db formed in the 4n neutron evaporation channel. They were also able to confirm the
decay properties for 258Db.[16]
248
Cm(19F,xn)267-xDb (x=4,5)
This reaction was first studied in 1999 at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in order to produce 262Db for chemical
studies. Just 4 atoms were detected with a cross section of 260 pb.[17] Japanese scientists at JAERI studied the
reaction further in 2002 and determined yields for the isotope 262Db during their efforts to study the aqueous
chemistry of dubnium.[18]
249
Bk(18O,xn)267-xDb (x=4,5)
Following from the discovery of 260Db by Albert Ghiorso in 1970 at the University of California (UC), the same
team continued in 1971 with the discovery of the new isotope 262Db. They also observed an unassigned 25 s SF
activity, probably associated with the now-known SF branch of 263Db.[19] In 1990, a team led by Kratz at LBNL
definitively discovered the new isotope 263Db in the 4n neutron evaporation channel.[20] This reaction has been used
by the same team on several occasions in order to attempt to confirm an electron capture (EC) branch in 263Db
leading to long-lived 263Rf (see rutherfordium).[21]
249
Bk(16O,xn)265-xDb (x=4)
Following from the discovery of 260Db by Albert Ghiorso in 1970 at the University of California (UC), the same
team continued in 1971 with the discovery of the new isotope 261Db.[19]
250
Cf(15N,xn)265-xDb (x=4)
Following from the discovery of 260Db by Ghiorso in 1970 at LBNL, the same team continued in 1971 with the
discovery of the new isotope 261Db.[19]
249
Cf(15N,xn)264-xDb (x=4)
In 1970, the team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) studied this reaction and identified the
isotope 260Db in their discovery experiment. They used the modern technique of correlation of genetic
parent-daughter decays to confirm their assignment.[22] In 1977, the team at Oak Ridge repeated the experiment and
were able to confirm the discovery by the identification of K X-rays from the daughter lawrencium.[23]
254
Es(13C,xn)267-xDb
In 1988, scientists as the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) used the asymmetric hot fusion reaction
with an einsteinium-254 target to search for the new nuclides 264Db and 263Db. Due to the low sensitivity of the
experiment caused by the small Es-254 target,they were unable to detect any evaporation residues (ER).
Decay of heavier nuclides

Isotopes of dubnium have also been identified in the decay of heavier elements. Observations to date are summarised
in the table below:
Dubnium 45
Evaporation Residue Observed dubnium isotope
294 270
Uus Db
288 268
Uup Db
287 267
Uup Db
282 266
Uut Db
267 263
Bh Db
278
Uut, 266Bh 262
Db
265 261
Bh Db
272 260
Rg Db
266
Mt, 262Bh 258
Db
261 257
Bh Db
260 256
Bh Db
Isotopes
Chronology of isotope discovery

Isotope Year discovered discovery reaction
256 1983?, 2000 209

Db Bi(50Ti,3n)
257 1985
Dbg 209
Bi(50Ti,2n)
257 2000
Dbm 209
Bi(50Ti,2n)
258 1976?, 1981 209

Db Bi(50Ti,n)
259 2001 241

Db Am(22Ne,4n)
260 1970 249

Db Cf(15N,4n)
261 1971 249

Db Bk(16O,4n)
262 1971 249

Db Bk(18O,5n)
263 1971?, 1990 249

Db Bk(18O,4n)
264 unknown
Db
265 unknown
Db
266 2006 237

Db Np(48Ca,3n)
267 2003 243

Db Am(48CaCa,4n)
268 2003 243

Db Am(48Ca,3n)
269 unknown
Db
Dubnium 46
270 2009 249

Db Bk(48Ca,3n)
Isomerism
260
Db
Recent data on the decay of 272Rg has revealed that some decay chains continue through 260Db with extraordinary
longer life-times than expected. These decays have been linked to an isomeric level decaying by alpha decay with a
half-life of ~19 s. Further research is required to allow a definite assignment.
258
Db
Evidence for an isomeric state in 258Db has been gathered from the study of the decay of 266Mt and 262Bh. It has
been noted that those decays assigned to an electron capture (EC) branch has a significantly different half-life to
those decaying by alpha emission. This has been taken to suggest the existence of an isomeric state decaying by EC
with a half-life of ~20 s. Further experiments are required to confirm this assignment.
257
Db
A study of the formation and decay of 257Db has proved the existence of an isomeric state. Initially, 257Db was taken
to decay by alpha emission with energies 9.16,9.07 and 8.97 MeV. A measurement of the correlations of these
decays with those of 253Lr have shown that the 9.16 MeV decay belongs to a separate isomer. Analysis of the data in
conjunction with theory have assigned this activity to a meta stable state, 257mDb. The ground state decays by alpha
emission with energies 9.07 and 8.97 MeV. Spontaneous fission of 257m,gDb was not confirmed in recent
experiments.
Spectroscopic decay level schemes

257
Db
This is the currently suggested decay level scheme for 257Dbg,m from the study performed
in 2001 by Hessberger et al. at GSI
Dubnium 47
Retracted isotopes
255
Db
In 1983, scientists at Dubna carried out a series of supportive experiments in their quest for the discovery of
Bohrium. In two such experiments, they claimed they had detected a ~1.5 s spontaneous fission activity from the
reactions 207Pb(51V,xn) and 209Bi(48Ti,xn). The activity was assigned to 255Db. Later research suggested that the
assignment should be changed to 256Db. As such, the isotope 255Db is currently not recognised on the chart of
radionuclides and further research is required to confirm this isotope.
References
[1] Münzenberg, G.; Gupta, M. (2011). Production and Identification of Transactinide Elements. p. 877. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0720-2_19.
[2] Six New Isotopes of the Superheavy Elements Discovered (http:/ / newscenter. lbl. gov/ news-releases/ 2010/ 10/ 26/ six-new-isotopes/ ).
Berkeley Lab. News center. October 26, 2010
[3] Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; Abdullin, F. Sh.; Bailey, P. D.; Benker, D. E.; Bennett, M. E.; Dmitriev, S. N.; Ezold, J. G.; Hamilton, J. H. et al.
(2010). "Synthesis of a New Element with Atomic Number Z=117". Physical Review Letters 104. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.142502.
PMID 20481935.
[4] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary-Eleventh Edition, Merriam-Webster, Inc, 2003
[5] Physical experiments determined a half-life of ~16 h whilst chemical experiments provided a value of ~32 h. The half-life is often taken as
~28 h due to the higher number of atoms detected by chemical means
[6] Barber, R. C.; Greenwood, N. N.; Hrynkiewicz, A. Z.; Jeannin, Y. P.; Lefort, M.; Sakai, M.; Ulehla, I.; Wapstra, A. P. et al. (1993).
"Discovery of the transfermium elements. Part II: Introduction to discovery profiles. Part III: Discovery profiles of the transfermium elements
(Note: for Part I see Pure Appl. Chem., Vol. 63, No. 6, pp. 879–886, 1991)". Pure and Applied Chemistry 65 (8): 1757.
doi:10.1351/pac199365081757.
[7] "Names and symbols of transfermium elements (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)". Pure and Applied Chemistry 66 (12): 2419. 1994.
doi:10.1351/pac199466122419.
[8] "Names and symbols of transfermium elements (IUPAC Recommendations 1997)". Pure and Applied Chemistry 69 (12): 2471. 1997.
doi:10.1351/pac199769122471.
[9] Munzenberg; Hofmann, S.; Heßberger, F. P.; Reisdorf, W.; Schmidt, K. H.; Schneider, J. H. R.; Armbruster, P.; Sahm, C. C. et al. (1981).
"Identification of element 107 by α correlation chains". Z. Phys. A. 300: 1. Bibcode 1981ZPhyA.300..107M. doi:10.1007/BF01412623.
[10] Hessberger; Münzenberg, G.; Hofmann, S.; Agarwal, Y. K.; Poppensieker, K.; Reisdorf, W.; Schmidt, K. -H.; Schneider, J. R. H. et al.
(1985). "The new isotopes 258105,257105,254Lr and 253Lr". Z. Phys A. 322 (4): 4. Bibcode 1985ZPhyA.322..557H. doi:10.1007/BF01415134.
[11] F. P. Hessberger; Hofmann, S.; Ackermann, D.; Ninov, V.; Leino, M.; Münzenberg, G.; Saro, S.; Lavrentev, A. et al. (2001). "Decay
properties of neutron-deficient isotopes 256,257Db, 255Rf, 252,253Lr" (http:/ / www. edpsciences. org/ articles/ epja/ abs/ 2001/ 09/ epja1103/
epja1103. html). Eur. Phys. J. A 12: 57–67. Bibcode 2001EPJA...12...57H. doi:10.1007/s100500170039. .
[12] F. P. Hessberger; Antalic, S.; Streicher, B.; Hofmann, S.; Ackermann, D.; Kindler, B.; Kojouharov, I.; Kuusiniemi, P. et al. (2005). "Energy
systematics of low-lying Nilsson levels in odd-mass einsteinium isotopes" (http:/ / www. springerlink. com/ content/ 7n66l7650112m776/ ).
Eur. Phys. J. A 26 (2): 2. Bibcode 2005EPJA...26..233H. doi:10.1140/epja/i2005-10171-6. .
[13] Gates (2005). "Measurement of the 208Pb(51V, xn)259-xDb Excitation Function" (http:/ / rnc. lbl. gov/ nsd/ annualreport2005/ contributions/
Gates1_LE. pdf). LBNL Annual Report. .
[14] "238U studies" (http:/ / rnc. lbl. gov/ nsd/ annualreport2005/ contributions/ Gregorich_LE. pdf). . Retrieved 2009-05-05.
[15] A. N. Andreyev; Bogdanov, D. D.; Chepigin, V. I.; Kabachenko, A. P.; Malyshev, O. N.; Oganessian, Yu. Ts.; Sagajdak, R. N.;
Ter-Akopian, G. M. et al. (1992). "Investigation of the fusion reaction 27Al + 236U → 263105 at excitation energies of 57 MeV and 65 MeV".
Z. Phys. A. 344 (2): 2. Bibcode 1992ZPhyA.344..225A. doi:10.1007/BF01291709.
[16] Z. G. Gan; Qin, Z.; Fan, H.M.; Lei, X.G.; Xu, Y.B.; He, J.J.; Liu, H.Y.; Wu, X.L. et al. (2001). "A new alpha-particle-emitting isotope
259
Db". Eur. Phys. J. A 10: 1. Bibcode 2001EPJA...10...21G. doi:10.1007/s100500170140.
[17] R. Dressler; Eichler, B.; Jost, D. T.; Piguet, D.; Türler, A.; Schädel, M.; Taut, S.; Yakushev, A. B. et al. (1999). "Production of 262Db
(Z=105) in the reaction 248Cm(19F, 5n)". Phys. Rev. C 59 (6): 3433–3436. Bibcode 1999PhRvC..59.3433D. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.59.3433.
[18] Y. Nagame (2002). "Production Cross Sections of 261Rf and 262Db in Bombardments of 248Cm with 18O and 19F Ions" (http:/ / sciencelinks.
jp/ j-east/ article/ 200219/ 000020021902A0652005. php). J. Nucl. Radiochem. Sci 3: 85–88. .
[19] A. Ghiorso; Nurmia, Matti; Eskola, Kari; Eskola, Pirkko (1971). "Two New Alpha-Particle Emitting Isotopes of Element 105, 261Ha and
262
Ha". Phys. Rev. C 4 (5): 1850–1855. Bibcode 1971PhRvC...4.1850G. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.4.1850.
[20] J. V. Kratz; Gober, M. K.; Zimmermann, H. P.; Gregorich, K. E.; Türler, A.; Hannink, N. J.; Czerwinski, K. R.; Kadkhodayan, B. et al.
(1992). "New nuclide 263Ha". Phys. Rev. C 45 (3): 1064–1069. Bibcode 1992PhRvC..45.1064K. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.45.1064.
[21] "EC of 263Db" (http:/ / www. ulrich-rieth. de/ publikationen/ RCA0301_059. PDF). . Retrieved 2009-05-05.
[22] A. Ghiorso; Nurmia, Matti; Eskola, Kari; Harris, James; Eskola, Pirkko (1970). "New Element Hahnium, Atomic Number 105". Phys. Rev.
Lett. 24 (26): 1498–1503. Bibcode 1970PhRvL..24.1498G. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.24.1498.
Dubnium 48
[23] C. E. Bemis; Dittner, P. F.; Silva, R. J.; Hahn, R. L.; Tarrant, J. R.; Hunt, L. D.; Hensley, D. C. (1977). "Production, L x-ray identification,
and decay of the nuclide 260105". Phys. Rev. C 16 (3): 1146–1158. Bibcode 1977PhRvC..16.1146B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.16.1146.
External links
• WebElements.com – Dubnium (http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Db/index.html)
Article Sources and Contributors 49
Article Sources and Contributors

Group 5 element Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=460266054 Contributors: AXRL, Aashaa, Ahoerstemeier, Alchemist-hp, Amicon, Dungodung, Feline1, Firq, Gaius
Cornelius, Gee Eight, Gentgeen, Headbomb, Hugo-cs, Icairns, Lanthanum-138, Nergaal, PhilipFrampton, R8R Gtrs, Ranveig, Rfc1394, Rjwilmsi, SQGibbon, Scerri, Steve Pucci, Stone, Titus III,
Vainamainien, VasilievVV, Vsmith, Wwoods, 19 anonymous edits
Vanadium Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=464818986 Contributors: 1234321234bf, 28bytes, 4twenty42o, 777sms, ATMyller, Ahoerstemeier, Alchemist-hp,
AlexCovarrubias, Algebraist, Amber388, Amgine, Andres, Apoc2400, AppuruPan, Archimerged, Astaroth5, Atlant, Avenue, Axiosaurus, Baccyak4H, Beetstra, Benbest, Bender235,
BerserkerBen, Bhowd, Biochemnick, Black lupin, Bloodofox, BlueEarth, Bluerasberry, Bluezy, Borislav Dopudja, Breeden, Brian0918, Brutaldeluxe, Bryan Derksen, Bushytails, Cacahueten,
Cadmium, Caeruleancentaur, Calmer Waters, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Captain Tower, Carnildo, CentaurWanderer, Chameleon, Charles.prescott, Chem-awb, Chemicalinterest, Chrislk02,
Coemgenus, CommonsDelinker, Conversion script, Coppertwig, Costelld, Crohnie, Crystal whacker, Curb Chain, Cybercobra, Darrien, David Latapie, Deafchild, Deflective, Deglr6328, Delta G,
DerHexer, Devilscrock, Discospinster, Donarreiskoffer, Download, Drahgo, Dwmyers, Dyschunky, Eaolson, Eastlaw, Edderso, Edgar181, Edgrmarriott, El, El aprendelenguas, Eldin raigmore,
Emperorbma, Enigmaman, Et Cum Spiritu Tuo, Fangfufu, Femto, Fivemack, Foobar, Frank Lofaro Jr., Frank Warmerdam, Freywa, Gary King, Gekritzl, Gene Nygaard, Gh, Ginsengbomb,
Glenn, Gman124, Graham87, Gregogil, Grendelkhan, Gurps npc, Gwarwick, Gwernol, HaeB, Hak-kâ-ngìn, Hcefw, Headbomb, Hellbus, Herbee, Hut 8.5, Hydrogen Iodide, Icairns, Ideyal,
Ingham, Ixfd64, J04n, Jaerik, Jakew, Janderk, Jaraalbe, Jarble, Joanjoc, John, Jokestress, Jose77, Jqavins, Jsmaye, Kajasudhakarababu, Karl-Henner, Karlhahn, Kevenharlow, Koavf, Koshogirl64,
Kurykh, Kwamikagami, LA2, LAX, Lanthanum-138, Lauren 218, Lazcisco, Leyo, Light current, Lizardo tx, Loren.wilton, LuigiManiac, Luk, Lumbercutter, MZMcBride, Malcolm Farmer,
Mani1, Materialscientist, Matt Deres, Mav, McTrixie, Mccready, Mesoderm, Mgimpel, Michael Devore, Milo99, Minesweeper, Mkweise, MrOllie, Mschel, Nao1958, NawlinWiki,
NerdyScienceDude, Nergaal, Nick Number, Nihiltres, Nora lives, Notacentuar, Novangelis, Oda Mari, Offpageinternet, Parslad, Pentalis, Petergans, Pftplzzz, Piperh, Plazak, Poolkris, Poorjon,
Psyche825, Pyrochem, RTC, Remember, Rich Farmbrough, Ridernyc, Rifleman 82, Rjhanson54, Rjwilmsi, Rmowat83, Rod57, Rolinator, Romanm, Rrburke, Rror, Rursus, Russ3Z, S3000,
Sango123, Saperaud, Sbharris, Schneelocke, Scientific29, Sengkang, Sfuerst, Shaddack, Shafei, Shaneymcb, Shoeofdeath, Silverbackmarlin, Sl, Smokefoot, Snowmanradio, Sprklyuncrn, Squids
and Chips, Srleffler, St loeffler, Stanleylhs, StaticGull, Steffenbk, Stephenb, Steven1284, Stifynsemons, Stone, Strait, StringTheory11, Suisui, Sunborn, Svante, Symplectic Map, Tagishsimon,
Tarquin, Tedder, Tetracube, The Thing That Should Not Be, The Voice Of Your Heart, Theseeker4, Thingg, Three-quarter-ten, Thricecube, Thumperward, Tide rolls, Tiyoringo, Tomie16, Tony
Fox, UpstateNYer, V1adis1av, V8rik, Vanadium123, Vancouverguy, Veinor, Vlad4599, Vsmith, Walkerma, Warut, Wasell, Watch37264, Wayne Slam, Wiglaf, Wikipediarules2221, Will Beback
Auto, William Avery, Wknight94, Woohookitty, Xasodfuih, Yaf, Yarnalgo, Yersinia, Youkai no unmei, Yyy, Zaya05, Zinc2005, Zoicon5, 450 anonymous edits
Niobium Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=464822602 Contributors: .adm.bmb., 209.75.42.xxx, Ahoerstemeier, AlanBurlison, AlimanRuna, Anclation, Andres,
Andrewlp1991, Andy Dingley, Andyman14, Archimerged, Arjen Dijksman, Arkuat, Art LaPella, Art-top, Attilios, Awadewit, Axiosaurus, Axl, BRG, Baccyak4H, Benbest, Bender235, Bhny,
BillFlis, Blackeagle, BlueEarth, Bob Burkhardt, Bobthebigmanwhite, BorgQueen, Borislav Dopudja, Breno, Bridesmill, Bryan Derksen, C+C, CYD, Calvin 1998, Carcharoth, CardinalDan,
Carnby, Carnildo, Casliber, Chris the speller, Conversion script, Crag, Cryptic C62, Crystal whacker, Curb Chain, Cybercobra, Daisystanton, Dana boomer, Danilomath, Darrien, Dave1959,
David Latapie, Dblandford, Deflective, Delta G, Deor, DerHexer, Derek Ross, Dhc5007, Dispenser, Doktorbuk, Donarreiskoffer, Download, DrKiernan, DragonflySixtyseven, Drift3r insid3,
Dschwen, Dwmyers, Dysprosia, EPO, EchetusXe, Edgar181, Ef3, El C, Elassint, Elchupachipmunk, Emperorbma, Epbr123, Everyguy, Exukvera, FallingRain123, Femto, Francs2000,
Fresheneesz, Fusionmix, Gene Nygaard, GenestealerUK, Gh, Giftlite, Glane23, Globe Collector, Graham87, Grendelkhan, Gurch, Gypsypkd, Hadal, Hak-kâ-ngìn, Hallpriest9, Hannibal
(usurped), Headbomb, Helge Skjeveland, Heron, Heymon32, Icairns, IceDragon64, Ideyal, Igodard, Itub, Ixfd64, J G Campbell, JFreeman, JWB, Jaraalbe, Jared81, Jarry1250, Jauhienij,
Jennavecia, Jerzy, Jimius, Jlin, Jmclark911, Joanjoc, John, Jonnabuz, Jose77, Kaszeta, Keenan Pepper, Kwamikagami, LA2, Lesgles, Lichpac, Lightmouse, LorenzoB, LouScheffer, LuigiManiac,
MER-C, Magioladitis, Makaristos, Mataaxa, Materialscientist, Mattisse, Mav, Mgimpel, Michael Devore, Michael Zimmermann, Miguel.mateo, Mike Rosoft, Mikenorton, MilFlyboy, Mild Bill
Hiccup, Million Moments, Minesweeper, Mm40, Moeron, Mpatel, Mr0t1633, Nao1958, Ndsg, Nergaal, Nessalc, NewEnglandYankee, Nickj, Nihiltres, NinjaCharlie, Ninly, Nkot, Noclevername,
Nono64, Nubiatech, NuclearWarfare, Ocee, Olof, Oxymoron83, PBS-AWB, ParticleMan, Paulhholmes, Permax, Peter Delmonte, Peter1946, Petergans, Peytonbland, Physchim62, Physicsdavid,
Piledhigheranddeeper, PlatinumX, Plexust, Polyamorph, Poolkris, Pras, ProtoOfSnagem, Pyrope, RJHall, RTC, Rcawsey, Reinderien, Remember, Rexparry sydney, Reyk, Reywas92, Richard n,
Rjwilmsi, RobertG, Roberta F., Rod57, Roentgenium111, Rolinator, Romanm, Roybb95, Rreagan007, Ruslik0, SamRushing, SandyGeorgia, Saperaud, Savant13, Schneelocke, Schwanzfixierter
Zuchthengst, Sengkang, Sfuerst, Shell Kinney, Simpsons contributor, Sjc, Sl, Sleepy phil, Smokefoot, Sodium, SpikeMolec, Stevertigo, Stifynsemons, Stone, StrontriumDogs, Sunborn,
Tagishsimon, Tbhotch, Tetracube, The Vigilante Editor, TheNewPhobia, Theresa knott, Thingg, Thricecube, Thumperward, Tide rolls, Titus III, Tjfulopp, TonyGerillo, TopHyatt, Tpbradbury,
Triwbe, Tsorro, Tsunexus, Uncle Dick, Uwezi, Vary, VasilievVV, Visor, Vsmith, Walkerma, Watch37264, Wavelength, Wiki Raja, Wiki'sajoke, Wikiborg4711, William Avery, WolfmanSF,
Woohookitty, Yyy, ZX81, ‫ﻳﻮﺳﻔﻲ ﺟﻤﺎﻝ‬, 295 anonymous edits
Tantalum Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=464240626 Contributors: 4twenty42o, Aeoran, Agentbla, Ahoerstemeier, Ali@gwc.org.uk, AlimanRuna, Anclation, Andy
Dingley, Archimerged, Avant Guard, Avono, Axeman89, Banedon, Basilicofresco, Bdiscoe, Benbest, Bhny, BlueEarth, Bobathon71, Borislav Dopudja, Bryan Derksen, CHAD3112, CYD,
Capek, Carnildo, CharlesC, Chemicalinterest, Cimbalom, Conversion script, Courcelles, Cybercobra, Cyrius, DMacks, DVD R W, DanielCristofani, Darrien, Dave6, David Latapie, Dbydnevs,
Deflective, Deglr6328, Deslack, Dina, Dismas, Doc Tropics, Donarreiskoffer, Donko XI, Dori, DrBob, Dynzmoar, EPO, Edgar181, El C, Emperorbma, Epbr123, Erik Zachte, ErrantX, Erutuon,
FT2, Femto, Fivemack, GJeffery, Gene Nygaard, GlobeGores, Graham87, Greatpatton, Grendelkhan, Gwernol, Gypsypkd, Hak-kâ-ngìn, Hallmm, Hammack, Headbomb, Helge Skjeveland,
Herbee, Heron, HorsePunchKid, IanGM, Icairns, Id447, Ideyal, Iridescence, IstvanWolf, Its snowing in East Asia, J.delanoy, JaGa, Jac64, Jacj, JackBanks, Jaraalbe, Jauhienij, JimVC3, Jitse
Niesen, Jni, JohnOwens, Jono4174, Jossi, Jwy, Karl-Henner, Kbrose, Kelovy, Kent Wang, Koavf, Kralizec!, Ktsquare, Kumorifox, Kurykh, Kwamikagami, LA2, LeePoon, Lewis R, Lisatwo,
Magistad123, Marc Venot, MartinHarper, Materialscientist, Mav, Maximaximax, Megan1967, Mgiganteus1, Michael Devore, Mikespedia, Milkbreath, Milo99, Minesweeper, Minimac,
Mononomic, Montrealais, Mr3641, MrOllie, Mus Musculus, Mxn, Nabokov, Nathan Johnson, NawlinWiki, Nergaal, Night Gyr, Ninly, Nishkid64, Nk, Noclevername, OlavN, Oliviosu,
Oxymoron83, Paraballo, Paul Drye, Paxsimius, Physchim62, Pi zero, Plexust, Polymerbringer, Poolkris, RTC, Rebroad, Remember, Reyk, Riana, Rjwilmsi, Roadrunner, Roberta F., Romanm,
Rrenner, S2000magician, SDC, Saktoth, Saperaud, Savie Kumara, Schneelocke, Scott Adler, Sengkang, Sfuerst, ShaunMacPherson, Sl, Smack, Smokefoot, Smyth, Splarka, Squash,
Staffwaterboy, Stan Shebs, Stifynsemons, Stone, Svante, TEDLEVITT, Tagishsimon, Tellyaddict, Tetracube, The High Fin Sperm Whale, The Thing That Should Not Be, Thomas Blomberg,
Thricecube, Thumperward, Tiwonk, Tjfulopp, Tom the Goober, TomaszHolband, Tristanreid, Uzecon, V1adis1av, VASANTH S.N., VenomousConcept, Vsmith, Wabernat, Warut, Wavelength,
Wikiborg4711, Will Beback Auto, Wireless friend, Wjmallard, Wtshymanski, Yekrats, Yyy, Zaphody3k, 288 anonymous edits
Dubnium Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=465589803 Contributors: 28bytes, AManWithNoPlan, AXRL, Adashiel, Aesopos, Ahoerstemeier, Alan Liefting, AlimanRuna,
Allmightyduck, Andres, Bender235, BlueEarth, Borislav Dopudja, Bryan Derksen, Carnildo, Cekli829, Closedmouth, Conversion script, Curps, Cybercobra, D64, Darrien, Deflective, Don4of4,
DragonflySixtyseven, Drjezza, DyingIce, EPO, Edgar181, Emerson7, Emperorbma, Eog1916, Eric119, Femto, Gamma, Goudzovski, Greatpatton, Headbomb, Heian-794, Heron, IanA, Icairns,
Ideyal, Irregulargalaxies, J.delanoy, John, Kalamkaar, Karelj, Karlhahn, Keenan Pepper, Kgf0, Kingdon, Ksbrown, Kwamikagami, Lanthanum-138, Lethalgeek, Lfh, LilHelpa, Marcika, Marek69,
MarsRover, Martin451, Materialscientist, Mav, Mdf, Mimihitam, N-true, Nedim Ardoğa, Neil916, Nergaal, Nihiltres, Nk, Pika32141, Pixel ;-), PlatinumX, Pne, Polylerus, Poolkris, Pras,
Psyche825, Pt, Puchiko, Quercusrobur, R8R Gtrs, Remember, Rich Farmbrough, Richard75, Rifleman 82, Rjwilmsi, Roentgenium111, Romanm, Romanskolduns, Rursus, Sakus, Santăr,
Saperaud, Schneelocke, Shogunzhu, Simon J Kissane, Sl, SpaceFlight89, Stifynsemons, Stone, StradivariusTV, StringTheory11, SuperWhiteAndNerdy, Tagishsimon, Tetracube, The Thing That
Should Not Be, Trigger820, UnitedStatesian, Useight, Vina, Vsmith, Waase, Warut, Wertuose, Writtenright, XinaNicole, Yekrats, 117 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 50
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Vanadium etched.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadium_etched.jpg License: Free Art License Contributors: Alchemist-hp (talk) (
www.pse-mendelejew.de)
File:Niobium crystals and 1cm3 cube.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Niobium_crystals_and_1cm3_cube.jpg License: Free Art License Contributors: Alchemist-hp
(talk) ( www.pse-mendelejew.de)
File:Tantalum single crystal and 1cm3 cube.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tantalum_single_crystal_and_1cm3_cube.jpg License: Free Art License Contributors:
Alchemist-hp (talk) ( www.pse-mendelejew.de)
file:Vanadium_etched.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadium_etched.jpg License: Free Art License Contributors: Alchemist-hp (talk) (
www.pse-mendelejew.de)
File:Loudspeaker.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Loudspeaker.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Bayo, Gmaxwell, Husky, Iamunknown, Mirithing,
Myself488, Nethac DIU, Omegatron, Rocket000, The Evil IP address, Wouterhagens, 17 anonymous edits
File:1910Ford-T.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:1910Ford-T.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Harry Shipler
File:Vanadiumoxidationstates.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadiumoxidationstates.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Steffen Kristensen
Image:decavanadate polyhedra.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Decavanadate_polyhedra.png License: Public Domain Contributors: Axiosaurus
File:VinwaterPourbaixdiagram.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:VinwaterPourbaixdiagram.png License: Public domain Contributors: Cadmium at en.wikipedia
File:Vanadyl-acetoacetonate-3D-balls.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadyl-acetoacetonate-3D-balls.png License: Public Domain Contributors: Benjah-bmm27
File:Vanadinite_sur_hollandite_(Maroc)_2.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadinite_sur_hollandite_(Maroc)_2.jpg License: Copyrighted free use Contributors:
Géry Parent
File:FerroVanadium.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:FerroVanadium.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Alchemist-hp
Original uploader was Alchemist-hp at de.wikipedia
File:Vanadium crystal elektrolytic.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadium_crystal_elektrolytic.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0
Contributors: Alchemist-HP. Original uploader was Alchemist-hp at de.wikipedia
File:Vanadium crystal bar and 1cm3 cube.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadium_crystal_bar_and_1cm3_cube.jpg License: Free Art License Contributors:
Alchemist-hp ( pse-mendelejew.de).
Image:Equilibrium.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Equilibrium.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: L'Aquatique
File:Knarre.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Knarre.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Benedikt.Seidl
File:Vanadium-bar.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadium-bar.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Alchemist-hp
pse-mendelejew.de Original uploader was Alchemist-hp (www.pse-mendelejew.de) at de.wikipedia
File:Vanadium(V) oxide.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanadium(V)_oxide.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Walkerma
File:Ascidia.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ascidia.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors: Gronk
File:Bluebell tunicates Nick Hobgood.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bluebell_tunicates_Nick_Hobgood.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike
3.0 Contributors: Nhobgood
File:Amanita muscaria 3 vliegenzwammen op rij.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Amanita_muscaria_3_vliegenzwammen_op_rij.jpg License: Creative Commons
Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Onderwijsgek
file:Niobium_crystals_and_1cm3_cube.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Niobium_crystals_and_1cm3_cube.jpg License: Free Art License Contributors:
Alchemist-hp (talk) ( www.pse-mendelejew.de)
File:Charles Hatchett.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Charles_Hatchett.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Edgar Fahs Smith (1854-1928)
File:Sommer, Giorgio (1834-1914) - n. 2990 - Niobe madre - Firenze.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sommer,_Giorgio_(1834-1914)_-_n._2990_-_Niobe_madre_-_Firenze.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Bibi Saint-Pol, Cretanforever,
DenghiùComm, G.dallorto, Gryffindor, Lalupa
File:World Niobium Production 2006.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:World_Niobium_Production_2006.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Stone (talk)
File:Niobium pentachloride.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Niobium_pentachloride.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Walkerma
File:Niobium-pentachloride-from-xtal-3D-balls.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Niobium-pentachloride-from-xtal-3D-balls.png License: Public Domain
Contributors: Ben Mills
File:Niobium metal.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Niobium_metal.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors:
User:Dschwen
File:Apollo CSM lunar orbit.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Apollo_CSM_lunar_orbit.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: NASA
File:Modern 3T MRI.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Modern_3T_MRI.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors:
User:KasugaHuang
file:Tantalum_single_crystal_and_1cm3_cube.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tantalum_single_crystal_and_1cm3_cube.jpg License: Free Art License
Contributors: Alchemist-hp (talk) ( www.pse-mendelejew.de)
Image:Tantalite.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tantalite.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was Tillman at en.wikipedia
Image:Tantal-Perle-Wiki-07-02-25-P1040364b.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tantal-Perle-Wiki-07-02-25-P1040364b.jpg License: Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: Elcap Jens Both
Image:Niels Bohr.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Niels_Bohr.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Bemoeial1, Common Good, Dodo, Erlendaakre,
Fastfission, Grendelkhan, JdH, Katpatuka, Lobo, MoiraMoira, Mu, Pieter Kuiper, Shizhao, 18 anonymous edits
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-46019-0001, Otto Hahn.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-46019-0001,_Otto_Hahn.jpg License: Creative
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany Contributors: A1B2C3D4, Ephraim33
Image:257Db decay scheme.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:257Db_decay_scheme.png License: Public Domain Contributors: Drjezza
License 51
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Group 5 Elements: An Overview

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Group 5 Elements: An Overview

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Group 5 elements

Fr Ra ** Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Uut Uuq Uup Uuh Uus Uuo

Group 5 in the periodic table

Z Element No. of electrons/shell

41 niobium 2, 8, 18, 12, 1

73 tantalum 2, 8, 18, 32, 11, 2

105 dubnium 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 11, 2

Name, symbol, number vanadium, V, 23

Element category transition metal

Group, period, block 5, 4, d

Standard atomic weight 50.9415(1) g·mol

Electron configuration [Ar] 3d 4s

Electrons per shell 2, 8, 11, 2 (Image)

Density (near r.t.) 6.0 g·cm−3

Liquid density at m.p. 5.5 g·cm−3

Melting point 2183 K,1910 °C,3470 °F

Boiling point 3680 K,3407 °C,6165 °F

Heat of fusion 21.5 kJ·mol−1

Heat of vaporization 459 kJ·mol−1

Specific heat capacity (25 °C) 24.89 J·mol−1·K−1

P/Pa 1 10 100 1k 10 k 100 k

at T/K 2101 2289 2523 2814 3187 3679

Electronegativity 1.63 (Pauling scale)

Ionization energies 1st: 650.9 kJ·mol−1

3rd: 2830 kJ·mol−1

Atomic radius 134 pm

Covalent radius 153±8 pm

Crystal structure body-centered cubic

Magnetic ordering paramagnetic

Electrical resistivity (20 °C) 197 nΩ·m

Thermal conductivity (300 K) 30.7 W·m ·K

Thermal expansion (25 °C) 8.4 µm·m ·K

Speed of sound (thin rod) (20 °C) 4560 m/s

Young's modulus 128 GPa

Shear modulus 47 GPa

Bulk modulus 160 GPa

Poisson ratio 0.37

Mohs hardness 6.7

CAS registry number 7440-62-2

Most stable isotopes

iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP

Chemistry and compounds

Ammonium vanadate(V) (NH4VO3) can be successively reduced with elemental

Oxy-anions and cations

The oxyanion chemistry of vanadium(V) is complex: the

Chalcogenide and halide compounds

Vanadium forms a very large variety of binary compounds with sulfur,

Vanadium's early position in the transition metal series lead to three

Vanadium metal is obtained via a multistep process that begins with

Iodide refined vanadium

Vanadium stabilizes the beta form of titanium and increases the

Highpure (99.95%) vanadium cuboids, ebeam

Mammals and birds

gray metallic, bluish when oxidized

Name, symbol, number niobium, Nb, 41

Element category transition metal

Group, period, block 5, 5, d

Standard atomic weight 92.90638 g·mol

Electron configuration [Kr] 4d 5s

Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 12, 1 (Image)

Density (near r.t.) 8.57 g·cm

Melting point 2750 K,2477 °C,4491 °F

Boiling point 5017 K,4744 °C,8571 °F