Vanadium: Definition, Properties and Uses

Vanadium, 20^th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, is a grey-whilte metal. It was discovered by Spanish Mexican scientist Andres Manuel Del Rio in 1801 but was isolated in 1830. Vanadium is one of the most abundant metallic elements and has been detected in the sunlight as well. Although pure vanadium is rare in nature but it has almost 65 various compounds that occur naturally. Vanadium was named by Nils Gabriel Sefstrom after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty and fertility because of the beautiful multicolored compounds formed by the metal.

Key Terms: Element, Metal, Compounds, Atomic Mass, Atomic Number, Electronegativity, Oxidation states, Paramagnetic

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What is Vanadium?

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Vanadium is a rare, ductile grey-white coloured element with the symbol V. It is found combined with minerals and is used to produce alloys like Ferrovanadium. Due to the presence of a protective film of oxides on the surface, it helps with metal corrosion. 

• Vanadium is placed in the 5^th group and 4^th period in the modern periodic table, on the right side of Titanium.
• Vanadium is a d – block element and has a blue – silvery - grey metallic appearance.
• It is a transition metal element with the atomic number 23 and atomic mass 50.9414 g.mol ^-1.
• Vanadium is mostly obtained by extraction of Patronite (VS₄) ores. It is also found in crude oil, coal, oil shale (Sedimentary rocks), tar sands deposits and bauxite ore.
• It is mostly produced directly from magnetite or heavy oil. It is also obtained as a byproduct of uranium mining.

Vanadium

Also Read: Periodic Classification of Elements

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Properties of Vanadium

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Physical properties of Vanadium are as follows:

• It is found as solid at STP. It has blue-silvery-grey metallic appearance. 
• It shows body centered cubic (bcc) crystal structure.
• It is a malleable transition metal which is rarely found in its elemental form in nature. 
• It is not brittle and is a medium hard and ductile metal. 
• It possesses good resistance to corrosion.

Chemical properties of Vanadium are as follows:​

• Atomic mass of Vanadium is 50.94. Its melting point is 1910 ℃.
• Boiling point of Vanadium is 3407 ℃. It has low density which is 6.11 g cm^-3.
• According to the Pauling scale, its electronegativity is 1.63. It has two isotopes.
• Both the isotopes are stable and occur naturally which are ⁵⁰V and ⁵¹V. Its key isotope is ⁵¹V which is the most abundant isotope of titanium.
• Vanadium dioxide is a conductor of electricity but an insulator for heat.
• It is a paramagnetic element. 
• Like other transition elements, vanadium also shows many oxidations states. It's important oxidation states are +2, +3, +4 and +5.
• Most common and largely used vanadium oxide is vanadium pentoxide or V2O5.​
• Vanadium reacts with Iodine and forms vanadium-iodide. Reaction is given below – 

2V + 3I₂ ⇌ 2VI₃

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Uses of Vanadium

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Vanadium is a very useful element that has applications in various fields mainly because of its rare property of being a good conductor of electricity but an insulator of heat.  A few uses of Vanadium are listed below:

• 85% of the total vanadium produced is used as an additive in steel.
• It increases the strength of the steel. It is used in redox batteries or flow batteries. 
• Its oxides are used as catalysts in many reactions. Some of its alloys show superconductivity such as vanadium – gallium tape which is used in superconducting magnets. 
• Alloys of vanadium with titanium and aluminium are used in jet engines, missiles and dental implants. 
• Vanadium pentoxide is used in ceramics. It is used in the production of glass coatings, alexandrite jewelry.
• Vanadium steel is used in various equipments such as axles, crankshafts, bicycles, gears etc. 
• Vanadium is also one of the many elements that are used in the purification of Uranium which is used for nuclear purposes.

Also Read:

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Things to Remember

• Vanadium is placed in the 5^th group and 4^th period in the periodic table, on the right side of Titanium.
• It is a d-block element with blue-silvery-grey metallic appearence. 
• It has two isotopes. Both the isotopes are stable and occur naturally which are ⁵⁰V and ⁵¹V.
• 85% of the total vanadium produced is used as an additive in steel. It increases the strength of the steel.
• Vanadium dioxide is a conductor of electricity but an insulator for heat.