Periodic table chemistry zr series#
And you can find out some more about John's favourite elements in a series he has written for the RSC's Education in Chemistry. John Emsley unlocking the secrets of element number 40, zirconium. The second is zirconium tungstate (ZrW 2O 8) which actually shrinks as you heat it up, at least until it reaches 700☌ when it decomposes into the two metal oxides. The first is a zirconium-niobium alloy which becomes superconducting below 35 Kelvin (-238☌) in other words it will conduct electricity with no loss of energy. As mined, zirconium contains 1-3 per cent of hafnium, which is chemically very similar, and although it is difficult to separate the two elements this has to be done for the metal used in the nuclear industry because hafnium absorbs neutrons very strongly.įinally, we have two zirconium materials with extreme properties, one which it displays when very cold, the other when it is heated to high temperatures. Zirconium is used to make the cladding for uranium oxide fuel elements.
Even today the nuclear industry buys almost all of the metal that is produced and some nuclear reactors have more than 100 kilometres of zirconium tubing. It does not corrode at high temperatures, nor absorb neutrons to form radioactive isotopes. Zirconium metal had some hidden assets which suddenly brought it to prominence in the late 1940s it was found to be the ideal metal for inside nuclear reactors and nuclear submarines. Zirconium-aluminium alloy is used for top of the range bicycle frames because it combines strength and lightness. Zirconium metal has an oxidised surface which is both hard and impervious to chemical attack making it ideal not only for chemical plants but for body implants such as hip replacement joints. The paper and packaging industry is finding zirconium compounds make good surface coatings because they have excellent water resistance and strength. A red-hot crucible made from it can be plunged into cold water without cracking. Zirconium oxide is to be found in ultra-strong ceramics that are stronger and sharper even than toughened steel and are used for knives, scissors and golf irons. Production of pure zirconium oxide is almost 25000 tons per year, and it also goes into various chemicals that end up as cosmetics, antiperspirants, food packaging, and even fake gems. Zirconium oxide is used to make heat resistant crucibles, ceramics and abrasives. Mixed with vanadium or praseodymium zircon makes blue and yellow pigments for glazing pottery and tiles. Zircon sand is used for heat-resistant linings for furnaces, for giant ladles for molten metal, and to make foundry moulds. Zirconium is to be found in ceramics, foundry equipment, glass, chemicals, and metal alloys. Today this element is widely used, as zircon, as zirconium oxide and as the metal itself. That was achieved in 1824 by the Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius but there was little use for it or its chemical compounds, and so it languished for a century or more. Klaproth was unable to isolate the metal itself. In the Middle Ages colourless gemstones of zircon were thought to be an inferior kind of diamond, but that was shown to be wrong when a German chemist, Martin Klaproth (1743-1817), analysed one in 1789 and discovered zirconium. Source: Ambroise Tardieu (engraving) after original portrait by Eberhard-Siegfried Henne What distinguishes them from real diamond is their higher density of 6.0 g cm -3 compared to diamond's 3.52. Today artificial gems are made from zirconium oxide known as cubic zirconia and they sparkle with more brilliance than diamond although they are not as hard. The name zirconium comes from the Arabic word zargun which refers to a golden-hued gemstone known since Biblical times called zircon. Wear it flashing on your finger, or unseen within your frame, it holds the key to nuclear energy, and it's got a gem-like name. To tell the story of this mysterious entity which is otherwise known as zirconium, here's chemist and award winning author John Emsley. We're kicking off our journey through the periodic table with a chemical that sometimes masquerades as diamond but is equally at home in the core of a nuclear reactor or even in an ironworks.
Hello and welcome to our tour of the unusual, exciting and deadly aspects of the elements that make up the world around us.
0 kommentar(er)
