Vanadium

Vanadium, V, is a transition metal element found in Group Va of the periodic table.

Atomic Number : 23
Relative Atomic Mass : 50.94

Vanadium has several valences in its compounds.

Discovery

Vanadium was first isolated by J J Berzelius in 1867AD.

Occurrence

Vanadium is widely distributed in rocks.

Its principal ores include occurs in

Carnotite, U2O3.V2O5.K2O.3H2O,
Patronite, V2S5, and
Vanadinite, Pb5(VO4)Cl3.

Vanadium occurs in many coals which are mined in Peru.

Extraction

Vanadium is extracted by fusing the ore with sodium carbonate and sodium nitrate when sodium vanadate is formed. The latter is extracted with water and then treated with ammonium chloride which results in a orange coloured precipitate of ammonium metavanadate which then yields vanadium pentoxide on heating.

Preparation

Vanadium may be prepared in a small scale in the laboratory by using the 'thermite reaction'. Thus, a mixture of vanadium pentoxide and aluminium powder is ignited which results in the formation of aluminium oxide and vanadium.

Manufacture

Properties

Reactions

Uses

Vanadium is used

in the preparation of Vanadium-Steel alloys, where the resulting decrease inn the grain size results in increased tensile strength,
in the preparation of catalysts in the chemicals industry or the preparation of sulphuric acid and for the oxidation of naphthalene,
in medicine
in the form of its salts as accelerators in the drying of paints, and
in the manufacture of glass.

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