Vanadium
Vanadium is a silvery transition metal with atomic number 23. It is used mainly to strengthen steel and in some rechargeable batteries.
Vanadium steel: Steel alloyed with vanadium to improve strength, toughness, and wear resistance. Small vanadium additions refine steel’s grain structure and strengthen its matrix.
Oxidation state: A formal accounting of an atom’s electron distribution in a chemical compound. Vanadium readily adopts several oxidation states, which underpins its diverse chemistry.
Andrés Manuel del Río: A Spanish-Mexican mineralogist who identified vanadium in a Mexican lead ore in 1801. Del Río first recognized the element later rediscovered and named vanadium.
Niobium: A soft, ductile transition metal with atomic number 41, used in alloys and superconductors. Niobium neighbors vanadium in Group 5 and shares some alloying roles.
Vanadium redox flow battery: A rechargeable battery that stores energy in liquid vanadium electrolytes with different oxidation states. Vanadium’s multiple oxidation states let the battery use the same element at both electrodes.
Vanadium redox couple: A pair of vanadium oxidation states that can interconvert through electron transfer. The V²⁺/V³⁺ and VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ couples store and release charge in flow batteries.
Nils Gabriel Sefström: A Swedish chemist who rediscovered vanadium in 1830 and gave it its name. Sefström established the element’s identity and named it for the Norse goddess Vanadis.
Chromium: A hard transition metal with atomic number 24, valued for stainless steel and protective coatings. Chromium lies beside vanadium in the periodic table and also strengthens steel.
Tool steel: Steel formulated to retain hardness and resist wear during cutting, shaping, or impact. Vanadium is added to some tool steels to form hard, wear-resistant carbides.
Vanadium carbide: A hard, refractory compound formed from vanadium and carbon. Fine vanadium carbide precipitates help strengthen certain steels.