Atomic number 23
Vanadium
Transition metal
In the real world
Quick facts
- Atomic mass
- 50.942
- Group
- 5
- Period
- 4
- State (STP)
- solid
- Electronegativity
- 1.63
- Common ox. states
- +2, +3, +4, +5
Properties
Electron configuration
[Ar] 3d³ 4s²
- Ionization energy
- 650.9 kJ/mol
- Electron affinity
- 50.6 kJ/mol
- Melting point
- 2183.00 K (1909.8 °C)
- Boiling point
- 3680.00 K (3406.8 °C)
How dangerous is it?
2/5 · Caution
The shiny metal itself is low hazard. The caution is its dust and compounds, especially vanadium pentoxide, which irritate and harm the lungs over time.
- ToxicBuilds up over time
Breathing vanadium pentoxide dust or fume irritates the airways and can damage the lungs with repeated exposure. (the dust and compounds, not the solid metal)
The dust and compounds are handled with ventilation and dust control; the bulk metal is left as a solid.
How it bonds
Vanadium spans oxidation states +2 through +5, each a distinctive color in solution (lilac → green → blue → yellow). The +5 state (V₂O₅) is the catalyst in industrial sulfuric-acid manufacture.
