{"id":65,"date":"2020-04-08T15:00:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T15:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/?page_id=65"},"modified":"2023-08-16T10:16:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T10:16:23","slug":"zirconium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/zirconium\/","title":{"rendered":"Zirconium (Zr)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Zirconium is a chemical element with the atomic number 40 in the periodic table. With 65 parts per million by weight, it’s a relatively abundant metal found in Earth\u2019s crust. Being a member of the transition metals family of periodic table elements, this strong transition metal has four valence electrons in its outer shell.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Known since antiquity, zirconium nowadays has a wide everyday application, ranging from the manufacturing of artificial gems with brilliance greater than the one of diamonds to its use in nuclear reactors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chemical and Physical Properties of Zirconium<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Property<\/strong><\/td>Value<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
The symbol in the periodic table of elements<\/td>Zr<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic number<\/td>40<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic weight (mass)<\/td>91.22 g.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Group number<\/td>4 (Transition metals)<\/td><\/tr>
Period<\/td>5 (d-block)<\/td><\/tr>
Color<\/td>A gray-white, lustrous substance with a golden hue<\/td><\/tr>
Physical state<\/td>Solid at 20\u00b0C<\/td><\/tr>
Half-life<\/td>From 50# ms [>170 nanoseconds] to 20(4)\u00d710^18 y<\/td><\/tr>
Electronegativity according to Pauling<\/td>1.2<\/td><\/tr>
Density<\/td>6.52 g.cm\u22123<\/td><\/tr>
Melting point<\/td>1854\u00b0C, 3369\u00b0F, 2127 K<\/td><\/tr>
Boiling point<\/td>4406\u00b0C, 7963\u00b0F, 4679 K<\/td><\/tr>
Van der Waals radius<\/td>0.160 nm<\/td><\/tr>
Ionic radius<\/td>0.08 nm (+4)<\/td><\/tr>
Isotopes<\/td>40<\/td><\/tr>
Most characteristic isotope<\/td>90Zr, 92Zr, 94Zr<\/td><\/tr>
Electronic shell<\/td>[Kr]4d25s2<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the first ionization<\/td>669 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the second ionization<\/td>1346 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the third ionization<\/td>2312 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the fourth ionization<\/td>3256 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Discovery date<\/td>In 1789 by Martin Heinrich Klaproth<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the periodic table symbol Zr, atomic number 40, atomic mass of 91.22 g.mol<\/span>-1<\/span>, and electron configuration [Kr]4d<\/span>2<\/span>5s<\/span>2<\/span>, zirconium is strong, ductile, and malleable gray-white metal with a silvery luster. It reaches its boiling point at 4406\u00b0C, 7963\u00b0F, 4679 K, while the melting point is achieved at 1854\u00b0C, 3369\u00b0F, 2127 K. This member of the transition metals family of the periodic table has an electronegativity of 1.2 according to Pauling, whereas the atomic radius according to van der Waals is 0.160 nm. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zirconium has a simple hexagonal crystal structure and has two phases: an alpha phase and a beta phase. The atoms of this chemical element form close-packed hexagonal \u03b1-Zr at room temperature, while at a temperature of 863 \u00b0C the structure shifts to body-centered \u03b2-Zr.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, this transition metal has strong anticorrosive properties and is resistant to extremely high temperatures. It shares the chemical properties with the chemical element classified under Zr in the periodic table – titanium<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element 40 forms a protective film when exposed to air at room temperature. The flimsy protection made by the oxides or nitrides passivate zirconium and lead to \u2018zirconium weakness\u2019 which makes this metal even more resistant to weak acids, acidic salts, and seawater.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Was Zirconium Discovered?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hyacinth and zircon are gemstones containing the pure, elemental form of the chemical element zirconium. Due to their attractive appearance, they have been used by the ancient civilizations for decoration. These aesthetically pleasing gems were labeled as \u2018zircon\u2019 since ancient times.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Discovery of Martin Heinrich Klaproth<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 1789, this zirconium was observed as a new chemical element found in the oxides of zircon (ZrSiO4, zirconium orthosilicate), by the German chemist and apothecary Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Klaproth analyzed a zircon (zirconium silicate) sample labeled as \u2018jargon\u2019 that had been obtained from Ceylon, Sri Lanka in an effort to determine the chemical composition of the mineral. The results from his chemical trial uncovered that the mineral sample was composed of 25% of silica, 0.5% of iron<\/a> oxide, and 70% of a new oxide. The German scientists named the new oxide \u2018<\/span>zirconerde<\/span><\/i>\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was clear to Klaproth that he has a new chemical element in front of him, only he wasn\u2019t able to isolate it in the pure, elemental form.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Contribution of J\u00f6ns Jacob Berzelius<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After the failed attempt of Sir Humphry Davy to obtain pure zirconium metal by conducting electrolysis, the Swedish chemist J\u00f6ns Jacob Berzelius joined the effort of his fellow scientists. In 1824, Berzelius heated an iron tube containing a mixture of potassium<\/a> and potassium zirconium fluoride (K2ZrF6) to a high temperature, which yielded an amorphous black powder with poor thermal-conductive properties and could spontaneously ignite when exposed to air. It was the pure metal form of the new element – zirconium (Zr).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Did Zirconium Get Its Name?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The name of this chemical element originates from the Arabic (or Persian) word ‘<\/span>zargun<\/span><\/i>‘, meaning \u2018<\/span>gold colored<\/span><\/i>\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where Can You Find Zirconium?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zirconium found in the Earth\u2019s crust originates from <\/span>S-type stars<\/span><\/a>. Namely, the spectrum of this late-type giant star displays bands of zirconium oxide, also including yttrium<\/a> oxide, technetium<\/a>, cyanogen, titanium oxides, vanadium<\/a> oxides, and lithium<\/a> as s-process elements. The heavier elements are formed exactly in the S-type stars by neutron capture. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to <\/span>Los Alamos National Laboratory<\/span><\/a>, this chemical element is also identified in the Sun, the meteorites, and in lunar rocks. In comparison with the terrestrial rocks, Apollo missions to the moon have delivered evidence of a surprisingly high zirconium oxide content in the <\/span>lunar rock<\/span><\/a> samples.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally occurring zirconium can be mostly found in the minerals zircon, ziekelite, baddeleyite, and eudialyte. Traces of zirconium are also uncovered from some rare earth minerals, obtained from monazite sand. The aforementioned zirconium minerals zirconium contain from a few tenths of 1 percent to several percent hafnium<\/a> contents. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mineral zircon is the only source for commercial exploitation of this chemical element. It typically occurs in alluvial deposits in stream beds, old lake beds, or ocean beaches and seawater. The second most important zirconium mineral is baddeleyite, only the extraction of the zirconium metal from this type of mineral is more expensive. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crystal Bar Process (or the Iodide Process) refers to the first industrial process for the commercial production of metallic zirconium, which was discovered by Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer in 1925. The purest, elemental form of this transition metal can be derived by thermal decomposition of zirconium tetraiodide (ZrI<\/span>4<\/span>), or with the Kroll process, i.e. by magnesium<\/a> reduction of zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl<\/span>4<\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zirconium\u2019s largest deposits in the world are located in Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, Mozambique, China, Sri Lanka, and India.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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List of Zirconium Minerals<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, zirconium can be found in the following mineral compounds:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n