Nickel
Basics about Super Metal Mineral Nickel :
Nickel is a chemical element with the symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is the fifth most abundant element on Earth. In fact, nickel is believed to be the second most abundant element in the Earth's inner core, with iron being the first by a large margin.
Nickel is a hard metal whose strength, ductility and resistance to heat and corrosion makes it extremely useful for the development of a wide variety of materials — from wires to coins to military equipment. This extremely useful metal is No. 28 in the periodic table of the elements, between the elements cobalt and copper. Nickel is a fairly good conductor of electricity and heat and is one of only four elements (cobalt, iron, nickel and gadolinium) that are ferromagnetic (magnetized easily) at room temperature. Nickel is a transition metal, meaning it has valence electrons in two shells instead of one, allowing it to form several different oxidation states.
Nickel is typically found in two types of deposits: laterite deposits, which are the result of intensive weathering of surface nickel-rich rocks, and magmatic sulfide deposits. The main mineral sources of nickel are limonite, garnierite and pentlandite.
Few things are made of pure nickel. Instead, nickel tends to play a supportive and stabilizing role in industry materials; it is usually combined with other metals to produce stronger, shinier and more durable products. Nickel is commonly used as a protective outer coating for softer metals. Nickel is silvery white and takes on a high polish. It is hard, malleable, ductile, somewhat ferromagnetic, and a fair conductor of heat and electricity. It belongs to the iron-cobalt group of metals and is chiefly valuable for the alloys it forms.
Uses of Nickel :
- It is extensively used for making alloys like stainless steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys too.
- Tubing made of copper-nickel alloy is extensively used in making desalination plants for converting sea water into fresh water.
- Nickel has a long history of being used in coins.
- Nickel steel is used to make armour plates and burglar-proof vaults.
- Nickel gives glass a greenish color.
- Nickel plating is often used to provide a protective coating for other metals.
- Finely divided nickel acts as a catalyst for hydrogenating vegetable oils.
- Nickel is used in batteries, including rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries used in hybrid vehicles
- It is also used in ceramics.
- It is used to manufacture Alnico magnets.
- Manganese oxide is also used in Portland cement mixtures.
- It is used to manufacture Alnico magnets.
- Other alloys of nickel are used in boat propeller shafts and turbine blades.
Basic Properties of Nickel
| Symbol | Ni |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 28 |
| Atomic weight | 58.6934(4) |
| Atomic radius | 149 pm |
| Iconic radius | 69 pm (+2) |
| Oxidation state | -1,1,2,3,4 |
| Melting point | 1728 K |
| Boiling point | 3186 K |
| Density | 8.91 g/cm3 |
| Electronegativity(Pauling Scale) | 1.91 |
| 1st ionization energy | 737 kJ/mol |
| 1st electron affinity | -112 kJ/mol |