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28
Ni
58.69
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The front and back of a 5c coin - the nickel - made from copper-nickel alloy.
| Classification: | Nickel is a transition metal |
| Atomic weight: | 58.69 g/mol |
| Density @ 20 oC: | 8.91 g/cm3 |
| Atomic volume: | 6.59 cm3/mol |
Discovery of Nickel
Nickel has been used since ancient times.
Pure nickel was extracted by Axel Cronstedt from the ore niccolite (nickel arsenide, NiAs) in 1751.
Chemist Jermais Richter in 1804 isolated much purer nickel, allowing him to study its properties.
In the early twentieth century, Ludwig Mond patented a process using nickel carbonyl to separate and purify pure nickel from any other metal. This process is still used today.
Switzerland was the first country to use coins of pure nickel in 1881.
The element name comes from comes from the German word 'kupfernickel' meaning Devil's copper.
States
State (s, l, g): solid
Melting point: 1728 K (1455 oC)
Melting point: 1728 K (1455 oC)
Boiling point: 3263 K (2990 oC)
Energies
Specific heat capacity: 0.44 J g-1 K-1
Heat of fusion: 17.48 kJ mol-1
1st ionization energy: 736.7 kJ mol-1
3rd ionization energy: 3393.4 kJ mol-1
Heat of fusion: 17.48 kJ mol-1
1st ionization energy: 736.7 kJ mol-1
3rd ionization energy: 3393.4 kJ mol-1
Heat of atomization: 430 kJ mol-1
Heat of vaporization: 377.5 kJ mol-1
2nd ionization energy: 1752.9 kJ mol-1
Electron affinity: 111.5 kJ mol-1
Heat of vaporization: 377.5 kJ mol-1
2nd ionization energy: 1752.9 kJ mol-1
Electron affinity: 111.5 kJ mol-1
Oxidation & Electrons
Shells: 2,8,16,2
Minimum oxidation number: -1
Min. common oxidation no.: 0
Electronegativity (Pauling Scale): 1.91
Minimum oxidation number: -1
Min. common oxidation no.: 0
Electronegativity (Pauling Scale): 1.91
Electron configuration: [Ar] 3d8 4s2
Maximum oxidation number: 4
Max. common oxidation no.: 2
Polarizability volume: 6.8 Å3
Maximum oxidation number: 4
Max. common oxidation no.: 2
Polarizability volume: 6.8 Å3
Appearance & Characteristics
Structure: fcc: face-centered cubic
Hardness: 4.0 mohs
Hardness: 4.0 mohs
How to make your own nickel-iron battery. These batteries last for decades!
Reaction of nickel metal with nitric acid producing nickel nitrate and brown nitrogen dioxide gas. For some reason the video says nickel nitrate is blue. It is in fact green, as you can see.
Color: silvery-white
Harmful effects:
Nickel and its compounds are considered to be carcinogenic. Approximately 10 to 20 percent of people are sensitive to nickel. Repeated contact with it leads to skin complaints (dermatitis). Such people should avoid contact with nickel, which can be found in jewelry. Workers who have breathed very large amounts of nickel compounds have developed chronic bronchitis and lung and nasal cancers. Nickel carbonyl is a very toxic gas.
Characteristics:
Nickel is a hard, silvery-white metal, which is malleable and ductile.
The metal can take on a high polish and it resists tarnishing in air.
Nickel is ferromagnetic and is a fair conductor of heat and electricity.
Most nickel compounds are blue or green.
Uses:
Nickel is used in corrosion-resistant alloys, such as stainless steel. (Stainless steel is the application in which most nickel is used.)
Tubing made from a copper-nickel alloy is used in desalination plants. This alloy is naturally resistant to corrosion by seawater and to biofouling.
Many coins contain nickel.
Nickel steel is used for burglar-proof vaults and armour plate.
Nickel is also used in batteries - for example NiCd (nickel-cadmium) rechargeable batteries - and in magnets.
Harmful effects:
Nickel and its compounds are considered to be carcinogenic. Approximately 10 to 20 percent of people are sensitive to nickel. Repeated contact with it leads to skin complaints (dermatitis). Such people should avoid contact with nickel, which can be found in jewelry. Workers who have breathed very large amounts of nickel compounds have developed chronic bronchitis and lung and nasal cancers. Nickel carbonyl is a very toxic gas.
Characteristics:
Nickel is a hard, silvery-white metal, which is malleable and ductile.
The metal can take on a high polish and it resists tarnishing in air.
Nickel is ferromagnetic and is a fair conductor of heat and electricity.
Most nickel compounds are blue or green.
Uses:
Nickel is used in corrosion-resistant alloys, such as stainless steel. (Stainless steel is the application in which most nickel is used.)
Tubing made from a copper-nickel alloy is used in desalination plants. This alloy is naturally resistant to corrosion by seawater and to biofouling.
Many coins contain nickel.
Nickel steel is used for burglar-proof vaults and armour plate.
Nickel is also used in batteries - for example NiCd (nickel-cadmium) rechargeable batteries - and in magnets.
Reactions & Compounds
Reaction with air: mild, w/ht ⇒ NiO
Reaction with 15 M HNO3: passivated
Oxide(s): NiO, Ni2O3
Hydride(s): NiH
Reaction with 15 M HNO3: passivated
Oxide(s): NiO, Ni2O3
Hydride(s): NiH
Reaction with 6 M HCl: mild, ⇒ H2, NiCl2
Reaction with 6 M NaOH: none
Chloride(s): NiCl2
Reaction with 6 M NaOH: none
Chloride(s): NiCl2
Radius
Atomic radius: 135 pm
Ionic radius (2+ ion): 83 pm
Ionic radius (2- ion): pm
Ionic radius (2+ ion): 83 pm
Ionic radius (2- ion): pm
Ionic radius (1+ ion): pm
Ionic radius (3+ ion): 72 pm
Ionic radius (1- ion): pm
Ionic radius (3+ ion): 72 pm
Ionic radius (1- ion): pm
Conductivity
Thermal conductivity: 90.9 W m-1 K-1
Electrical conductivity: 0.146 x 106 S cm-1
Abundance & Isotopes
Abundance earth's crust: 84 parts per million by weight, 30 parts per million by moles
Abundance solar system: 80 parts per million by weight, 2 parts per million by moles
Cost, pure: $7.7 per 100g
Cost, bulk: $1.9 per 100g
Source: Nickel occurs occasionally free in nature but is mainly found in ores. Its chief ores are pentlandite and pyrrhotite (nickel-iron sulfides), garnierite (nickel-magnesium silicate), millerite (nickel sulfide) and niccolite (nickel arsenic).
Nickel is taken from its ores by roasting and reduction processes which produce a metal of over 75% purity. The Mond process is then used to purify the nickel further.
Isotopes: Nickel has 23 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 52 to 76. Of these, five are stable, 58Ni, 60Ni, 61Ni, 62Ni and 64Ni. The most abundant isotope is 58Ni at 68.1%
Abundance solar system: 80 parts per million by weight, 2 parts per million by moles
Cost, pure: $7.7 per 100g
Cost, bulk: $1.9 per 100g
Source: Nickel occurs occasionally free in nature but is mainly found in ores. Its chief ores are pentlandite and pyrrhotite (nickel-iron sulfides), garnierite (nickel-magnesium silicate), millerite (nickel sulfide) and niccolite (nickel arsenic).
Nickel is taken from its ores by roasting and reduction processes which produce a metal of over 75% purity. The Mond process is then used to purify the nickel further.
Isotopes: Nickel has 23 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 52 to 76. Of these, five are stable, 58Ni, 60Ni, 61Ni, 62Ni and 64Ni. The most abundant isotope is 58Ni at 68.1%
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