Vanadium Facts: The Element
Vanadium Facts: Vanadium is a metallic element that has 23 protons in the nucleus of each atom. Vanadium is important in trace amounts in biological systems, especially with Nitrogen fixing bacteria in plants such as peas and beans, which are responsible for turning inert atmospheric Nitrogen gas into valuable plant food. It is also vital as an additive in steel to strengthen and help protect the metal against corrosion. It is also added to some Titanium alloys. It is also used (in oxide form) as a catalyst in the Sulfuric acid production process, which is a key industrial activity in developed nations.
Vanadium metal is never found in nature in its pure form as it is highly reactive. When produced industrially or in the laboratory it is a silvery coloured metal, as shown to the right.Isotopes Of Vanadium There are only two stable isotopes of Vanadium. These are 50-Vanadium and 51-Vanadium. Of these, the 50- variety is radioactive but has such a long half life in the millions of billions of years that it can be considered stable. These isotopes contain 23 protons, as do all Vanadium atoms, and either 27 neutrons or 28 neutrons for the 50- and 51- isotopes respectively. There are dozens of very short-lived Vanadium isotopes that have been discovered or prepared. They range from 40-Vanadium (23 protons and 17 neutrons) to 65-Vanadium (23 protons and 42 neutrons). None of these isotopes are encountered in nature. Electron Arrangement Of Vanadium The 23 electrons of a neutral Vanadium atom result in the electron configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d3 4s2, as shown in the image below. Due to the complex arrangement of electrons for elements with atomic numbers greater than 20, Vanadium ends up with two outer shell electrons in the fourth shell and an incompletely filled third shell. It is important to notice that the 3d subshell and the 4s subshell are very close together in the diagram.
States Of Vanadium Because of the closeness of the outer shell electrons to the incomplete 3-d subshell, Vanadium is able to exist in more than one oxidation state. This is the case with most d-block elements. These states can be viewed as positive charges, as they affect the compounds that Vanadium can make with oppositely charged ions. In reality, they represent degrees of electron sharing with the other ions or compounds they interact with.
The states Vanadium can normally be found in are +2, +3, +4 and +5. It is these states, viewed as charges, that let us predict the compounds Vanadium will form. For example, in it's +5 state, Vanadium will combine with Oxide ions (O2-) to form Vanadium Pentoxide with the formula V2O5, with the charges balancing to make a neutral overall compound.Vanadium facts: The Element Return from Vanadium Facts to Solar Chemistry 1 or return to the Green Planet home page for Solar Power Facts.
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