• Possibly used to make Wootz steel and Damascus steel. A lacrosse stick or crosse is a long handled racket that is used in the sport of Lacrosse to handle the ball and to strike at opposing players Wootz is a Steel characterized by a pattern of bands or sheets of micro Carbides within a tempered Martensite or Pearlite matrix Damascus steel is a hot- forged Steel used in Middle Eastern Swordmaking from about 1100 to 1700 AD

History

Vanadium (named after Vanadis, the Scandinavian goddess of beauty) was originally discovered by Andrés Manuel del Río (a Spanish-born Mexican mineralogist) in Mexico City, in 1801. Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya) is a major goddess in Norse Paganism, a subset of Germanic Paganism. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well Andrés Manuel del Río Fernández ( Madrid, November 10, 1764 &mdash Mexico City, March 23, 1849) was a Spanish Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday He discovered the element after being sent a sample of "brown lead" ore (now named vanadinite). Vanadinite is Mineral belonging to the Apatite group of phosphates with the chemical formula Pb 5( V[[oxygen O]]43 Through experimentation, he found it to form salts with a wide variety of colors, so he named the element panchromium (Greek: all colors). He later renamed this compound erythronium, since most of the salts turned red when heated. The French chemist Hippolyte Victor Collet-Descotils incorrectly declared that del Río's new element was only impure chromium. Chromium (ˈkroʊmiəm is a Chemical element which has the symbol Cr and Atomic number 24 Del Río thought himself to be mistaken and accepted the statement of the French chemist that was also backed by del Río's friend Baron Alexander von Humboldt. (September 14 1769 &ndash May 6 1859 was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister philosopher and linguist ^[1]

In 1831, Sefström of Sweden rediscovered vanadium in a new oxide he found while working with some iron ores and later that same year Friedrich Wöhler confirmed del Río's earlier work. Year 1831 ( MDCCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Nils Gabriel Sefström ( June 2, 1787 &ndash November 30, 1845) was a Swedish Chemist. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Friedrich Wöhler (31 July 1800 - 23 September 1882 was a German Chemist, best-known for his synthesis of Urea, but also the first to isolate several ^[2] Later, George William Featherstonhaugh, one of the first US geologists, suggested that the element should be named "rionium" after del Río, but this never happened. George William Featherstonhaugh (April 9 1780 - 28 September 1866was a Geographer initiated the Albany and Schenectady Railroad and was a surveyor of the Louisiana Purchase

Metallic vanadium was isolated by Henry Enfield Roscoe in 1867, who reduced vanadium(III) chloride VCl₃ with hydrogen. Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe FRS ( January 7, 1833 - December 18, 1915) was an English Chemist, born in London. Year 1867 ( MDCCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Vanadium trichloride is VCl3. This purple salt is a common precursor to other vanadium(III complexes Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 ^[3] The name vanadium comes from Vanadis, a goddess in Scandinavian mythology, because the element has beautiful multicolored chemical compounds. Freyja (sometimes anglicized as Freya) is a major goddess in Norse Paganism, a subset of Germanic Paganism. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more different elements chemically bonded together in a fixed proportion by Mass. ^[2]

Biological role

In biology, a vanadium atom is an essential component of some enzymes, particularly the vanadium nitrogenase used by some nitrogen-fixing micro-organisms. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Enzymes are Biomolecules that catalyze ( ie increase the rates of Chemical reactions Almost all enzymes are Proteins Nitrogenase ( is the Enzyme used by some organisms to fix atmospheric Nitrogen gas (N2 Nitrogen fixation is the process by which Nitrogen is taken from its natural relatively inert molecular form (N2 in the atmosphere and converted into Vanadium is essential to ascidians or sea squirts in vanadium chromagen proteins. Ascidiacea (commonly known as the ascidians or Sea squirts is a class in the Tunicata Subphylum of sac-like marine Filter feeders Tunicate, also known as urochordata, tunicata (and by the common names of urochordates, sea squirts, and sea pork) is the Vanabins (also known as vanadium-associated proteins or vanadium chromagen) are a specific group of Vanadium -binding Metalloproteins Found The concentration of vanadium in their blood is more than 100 times higher than the concentration of vanadium in the seawater around them. Rats and chickens are also known to require vanadium in very small amounts and deficiencies result in reduced growth and impaired reproduction. Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea The chicken ( Gallus gallus, sometimes G gallus domesticus) is a domesticated Fowl which is traditionally believed to have descended from Reproduction is the Biological process by which new individual Organisms are produced

Ten percent of the blood cell pigment of the sea cucumber is vanadium. A blood cell (also called blood corpuscle) is any cell of any type normally found in Blood. The sea cucumber (also known as trepang, bêche-de-mer, or ambiguously Sea slug) is an Echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea Just as the horseshoe crab has blue blood rather than red blood (colored by iron in hemoglobin) because of copper in the hemocyanin pigment, the blood of the sea cucumber is yellow because of the vanadium in the vanabin pigment^[4]. The horseshoe crab or Atlantic horseshoe crab ( Limulus polyphemus) is a marine Chelicerate Arthropod. Red blood cells are the most common type of Blood cell and the Vertebrate body's principal means of delivering Oxygen to the body tissues via the Blood Hemoglobin ( also spelled haemoglobin and abbreviated Hb or Hgb) is the Iron -containing Oxygen -transport Metalloprotein Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Hemocyanins (also spelled haemocyanins) are respiratory Proteins in the form of Metalloproteins containing two Copper atoms that reversibly Vanabins (also known as vanadium-associated proteins or vanadium chromagen) are a specific group of Vanadium -binding Metalloproteins Found Nonetheless, there is no evidence that vanabins carry oxygen, in contrast to hemoglobin and hemocyanin.

A form of vanadium, vanadyl sulfate, seems to improve glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes. ^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Several species of macrofungi, namely Amanita muscaria and related species, are known as effective accumulators of vanadium (up to 500 mg/kg in dry weight). Vanadium is present as an organometallic compound (called amavadine) in fungal fruit-bodies. However, the biological importance of the accumulation process is unknown.

Mineral supplement in drinking water

Most continental waters show a vanadium concentration of less than 3 ppb. "Parts-per" notation is used especially in Science and Engineering, to denote Ratios (relative proportions in measured quantities particularly However, the groundwater of Mt. Fuji contains a very high concentration of vanadium—up to 150 ppb. is the highest Mountain in Japan at.An Active volcano that last erupted in 1707–08 it straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and This vanadium is solubilized from the basalt by the groundwater. The vanadium content in Mt. Fuji becomes higher at places nearer the summit and deeper in the ground. Recently this high-vanadium water of Mt. Fuji has been sold by many companies as an agent to cope with diabetes. However, there is no concrete evidence for its efficacy. The rainbow trout living in the Mt. Fuji water showed much higher accumulation of vanadium in kidneys and bone.

Occurrence

Vanadium is never found unbound in nature but it does occur in about 65 different minerals among which are patronite VS₄, vanadinite Pb₅(VO₄)₃Cl, and carnotite K₂(UO₂)₂(VO₄)₂. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific Vanadinite is Mineral belonging to the Apatite group of phosphates with the chemical formula Pb 5( V[[oxygen O]]43 Carnotite is a Potassium Uranium Vanadate Mineral with Chemical formula: K 2( U[[oxygen O]]22( 3H₂O.

By far the greatest proportion of the world's vanadium production is sourced from vanadium-bearing magnetite found in ultramafic gabbro bodies. Magnetite is not to be confused with Magnesite or Maghemite. Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic Mineral with chemical Ultramafic (also referred to as ultrabasic) rocks are igneous and meta -igneous rocks with very low Silica content (less than 45% generally Gabbro (ˈɡæbrəʊ is a dark coarse-grained intrusive Igneous rock chemically equivalent to Basalt. From these ores vanadium can be calcined to form ferrovanadium, or can be recovered from the vanadium steel smelting process which is widely used in Russia and China. An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining

Vanadium is also present in bauxite, and in carbon containing deposits such as crude oil, coal, oil shale and tar sands. Bauxite is the most important Aluminium Ore. It consists largely of the minerals Gibbsite Al(OH3 Boehmite γ-AlO(OH and Carbon (kɑɹbən is a Chemical element with the symbol C and its Atomic number is 6 Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Tar is a viscous black Liquid derived from the Destructive distillation of organic matter Vanadium has also been detected spectroscopically in light from the Sun and some other stars. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. A star is a massive luminous ball of plasma. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the Energy on Earth

Much of the vanadium metal being produced is now made by calcium reduction of V₂O₅ in a pressure vessel. Calcium (ˈkælsiəm is the Chemical element with the symbol Ca and Atomic number 20 Vanadium(V oxide ( vanadia) is the Chemical compound with the formula V2O5 Vanadium is usually recovered as a by-product or co-product, and so world resources of the element are not really indicative of available supply.

See also category:vanadate minerals.

Isolation

Vanadium is available commercially and production of a sample in the laboratory is not normally required. A laboratory (informally lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific Research, Experiments and Commercially, routes leading to metallic vanadium as main product are not usually required as enough is produced as byproduct in other processes. A by-product is a secondary or incidental product deriving from a Manufacturing process a Chemical reaction or a biochemical pathway and is not the primary product

In industry, heating of vanadium ore or residues from other processes with salt NaCl or sodium carbonate Na₂CO₃ at about 850°C gives sodium vanadate NaVO₃. For sodium chloride in the diet see Salt. Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or Halite, is a Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda or soda ash), is a Sodium Salt of Carbonic acid. Sodium metavanadate is a yellow solid which is soluble in water This is dissolved in water and acidified to give a red solid which in turn is melted to form a crude form of vanadium pentoxide V₂O₅. Vanadium(V oxide ( vanadia) is the Chemical compound with the formula V2O5 Reduction of vanadium pentoxide with calcium gives pure vanadium. Calcium (ˈkælsiəm is the Chemical element with the symbol Ca and Atomic number 20 An alternative suitable for small scales is the reduction of vanadium pentachloride VCl₅ with hydrogen or magnesium. Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 Magnesium (mægˈniːziəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Mg, Atomic number 12 Atomic weight 24 Many other methods are also in use.

Industrially, most vanadium is used as an additive to improve steels. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 Rather than proceed via pure vanadium metal it is often sufficient to react the crude of vanadium pentoxide V₂O₅ with crude iron. Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 This produces ferrovanadium suitable for further work.

Compounds

Vanadium pentoxide V₂O₅ is used as a catalyst principally in the production of sulfuric acid. Vanadium(V oxide ( vanadia) is the Chemical compound with the formula V2O5 It is the source of vanadium used in the manufacture of ferrovanadium. It can be used as a dye and color-fixer.

Vanadyl sulfate VOSO₄, also called vanadium(IV) sulfate oxide hydrate, is used as a relatively controversial dietary supplement, primarily for increasing insulin sensitivity and body-building. Vanadyl(IV sulfate, VOSO4 is a blue crystalline solid that is normally stable in room conditions Insulin is a Hormone with intensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems (eg vascular compliance Bodybuilding is the process of maximizing Muscle hypertrophy. Whether it works for the latter purpose has not been proven, and there is some evidence that athletes who take it are merely experiencing a placebo effect. Placebo is a substance or procedure a patient accepts as medicine or therapy but which has no specific therapeutic activity

Anhydrous VCl₄ is a liquid at room temperature and reacts violently with water; it can be used, in conjunction with an appropriate nitrogen compound, for vapour deposition of hard VN layers [3]. Vanadium pentafluoride is an extremely powerful fluorinating agent, capable of perfluorinating chloroalkanes [4], and has been proposed (eg [5]) as a safe and economical substitute for XeF₂; it is also liquid at room temperature. "Fluorination" redirects here For the addition of fluoride to drinking water see Water fluoridation.

Orthovanadate VO₄^3- is used in biochemistry as a phosphate analogue; in protein crystallography it can be used to make phosphate binding sites very visible in electron density. Sodium orthovanadate is the chemical compound Na3VO4 and contains the tetrahedral VO43− A phosphate, an Inorganic chemical, is a salt of Phosphoric acid. X-ray crystallography is a method of determining the arrangement of Atoms within a Crystal, in which a beam of X-rays strikes a crystal and scatters

Vanadium forms polyoxometalate cluster compounds, including V₁₀ O₂₄. The term polyoxometalate (abbreviated POM) is applied to an extremely large group of generally anionic clusters with frameworks built from Transition metal Oxo

Toxicity of vanadium compounds

The toxicity of vanadium depends on its physico-chemical state; particularly on its valence state and solubility. Tetravalent VOSO₄ has been reported to be more than 5 times as toxic as trivalent V₂O₃ (Roschin, 1967). Vanadium compounds are poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal system. Inhalation exposures to vanadium and vanadium compounds result primarily in adverse effects to the respiratory system (Sax, 1984; ATSDR, 1990; Ress et al. , 2003; Worle-Knirsch et al. , 2007). Quantitative data are, however, insufficient to derive a subchronic or chronic inhalation reference dose. Other effects have been reported on blood parameters after oral or inhalation exposures (Scibior et al. , 2006; Gonzalez-Villalva et al. , 2006), on liver (Kobayashi et al. , 2006), neurological development in rats (Soaso and Garcia, 2007), and other organs.

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 (Ress et al. , 2003), although the interpretation of the results has recently been disputed (Duffus, 2007). Vanadium has not been classified as to carcinogenicity by the U. S. EPA (1991a).

Various oxidation states of vanadium ions

It is known that vanadium gets the oxidation states +2, +3, +4, +5. To observe the colours of these states, ammonium metavanadate (NH₄VO₃) can be used as a starting agent. Ammonium metavanadate, NH4VO3 a yellow crystalline solid which dissolves in water is the most common laboratory vanadate reagent along with potassium It must be acidified beforehand so dioxovanadium(V) ion, VO₂⁺ (yellow +5 oxidation number) is produced. In alkaline medium, the stable form of vanadium(V) state is VO₃^-.

Adding zinc powder and concentrated hydrochloric acid continuously, VO₂⁺ is reduced into blue VO²⁺. Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 Hydrochloric acid is the Solution of Hydrogen chloride ( H[[Chlorine Cl]] in water

It can be seen that during the reaction, the mixture is green in colour as the original yellow of the +5 state and the blue of the +4 are present.

Continuously adding Zn powder and concentrated HCl, blue VO²⁺ is reduced to green V³⁺. V³⁺ is then reduced to violet V²⁺ by Zn powder and concentrated HCl again.

See also Vanadium compounds.

See also Vanadium(V) oxide. Vanadium(V oxide ( vanadia) is the Chemical compound with the formula V2O5

Isotopes

Main article: Isotopes of vanadium

Naturally occurring vanadium is composed of one stable isotope ⁵¹V and one radioactive isotope ⁵⁰V with a half-life of 1. Naturally occurring Vanadium ( V) is composed of one stable Isotope 51V and one radioactive isotope 50V with a Half-life Isotopes (Greek isos = "equal" tópos = "site place" are any of the different types of atoms ( Nuclides Half-Life (computer-game page here It's already listed in the disambiguation page 5×10¹⁷ years. 24 artificial radioisotopes have been characterized (in the range of mass number between 40 and 65) with the most stable being ⁴⁹V with a half-life of 330 days, and ⁴⁸V with a half-life of 15. A radionuclide is an Atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy which is available to be imparted either to a newly-created The mass number ( A) also called atomic mass number or nucleon number, is the total number of Protons and Neutrons (together known as 9735 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives shorter than an hour, the majority of them below 10 seconds. Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable Atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and Radiation. In 4 isotopes, metastable excited states were found (including 2 metastable states for ⁶⁰V). A nuclear isomer is a Metastable state of an Atomic nucleus caused by the excitation of one or more of its Nucleons A nuclear isomer occupies

The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope ⁵¹V is electron capture. Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable Atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and Radiation. Electron capture (sometimes called inverse beta decay) is a Decay mode for Isotopes that will occur when there are too many Protons in the The next most common mode is beta decay. In Nuclear physics, beta decay is a type of Radioactive decay in which a Beta particle (an Electron or a Positron) is emitted The primary decay products before ⁵¹V are element 22 (titanium) isotopes and the primary products after are element 24 (chromium) isotopes. In Nuclear physics, a decay product, also known as a daughter product, daughter isotope or daughter nuclide, is a Nuclide Titanium (taɪˈteɪniəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Ti and Atomic number 22 Chromium (ˈkroʊmiəm is a Chemical element which has the symbol Cr and Atomic number 24

Precautions

Powdered metallic vanadium is a fire hazard, and unless known otherwise, all vanadium compounds should be considered highly toxic. Generally, the higher the oxidation state of vanadium, the more toxic the compound is. The most dangerous compound is vanadium pentoxide. Vanadium(V oxide ( vanadia) is the Chemical compound with the formula V2O5

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set an exposure limit of 0. The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. 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.

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. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (or NIOSH) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations This is the exposure level of a chemical that is likely to cause permanent health problems or death.

See also

• Vanadium compounds
• Vanadium minerals
• Vanadate minerals

Footnotes

References

• Los Alamos National Laboratory – Vanadium
• High vanadium content in Mt. Fuji groundwater and its relevance to the ancient biosphere by Tatsuo Hamada in Vanadium in Environment. Part 1: Chemistry and Biochemistry. Edited by Jerome O. Nriagu. Page 97-123. 1998. John Wilen & Sons, Inc.
• Duffus JH. Carcinogenicity classification of vanadium pentoxide and inorganic vanadium compounds, the NTP study of carcinogenicity of inhaled vanadium pentoxide, and vanadium chemistry. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2007 Feb;47(1):110-4.
• Gonzalez-Villalva A, Fortoul TI, Avila-Costa MR, et al. Thrombocytosis induced in mice after subacute and subchronic V2O5 inhalation. Toxicol Ind Health 2006 Apr;22(3):113-6.
• Kobayashi K, Himeno S, Satoh M, et al. Pentavalent vanadium induces hepatic metallothionein through interleukin-6-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Toxicology 2006 Dec 7;228(2-3:162-170.
• Ress NB, Chou BJ, Renne RA, et al. Carcinogenicity of inhaled vanadium pentoxide in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice. Toxicol Sci 2003 Aug;74(2):287-96.
• Scibior A, Zaporowska H, Ostrowski J. Selected haematological and biochemical parameters of blood in rats after subchronic administration of vanadium and/or magnesium in drinking water. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 2006 Aug;51(2):287-95.
• Soazo M, Garcia GB. Vanadium exposure through lactation produces behavioral alterations and CNS myelin deficit in neonatal rats. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2007 Jul-Aug;29(4):503-10.
• Worle-Knirsch JM, Kern K, Schleh C, et al. Nanoparticulate vanadium oxide potentiated vanadium toxicity in human lung cells. Environ Sci Technol 2007 Jan 1;41(1):331-6.

External links

• WebElements.com – Vanadium
• Mineral Information Institute – Vanadium
• ATSDR – ToxFAQs: Vanadium
• The Vanadium Redox Battery was invented at The University of New South Wales
• Vanadium general infos
• Oxidation States of Vanadium, with video demostration and electrode potentials relevant
• Redox chemistry quoted Vanadium as illustrations
• The (REACH) Vanadium Consortium