Zirconium Facts: Curious Metal Facts Explained For Kids!

Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, was the first to create pure zirconium, a transition metal of blue-grayish tinge.

The melting point of zirconium is 3,371 F (1,855 C). The boiling point of the metal is 7,968 F(4,408.9 C).

Zirconium is made of five isotopes incorporating 90Zr (being the ubiquitous element) with an estimated proportion of 51.5%, 91Zr comprising 11.2%, 7.1% of 92Zr, 17.4% of 94Zr, and 96Zr by 17.4%. The amount of natural zirconium found in the human body is negligible and has no known function to play.

Whole wheat, brown rice, spinach, eggs, and beef are all good sources of zirconium in the diet. Antiperspirants and water purification systems also use zirconium.

Because some patients had skin responses, it is no longer used to treat poison ivy. While zirconium is generally regarded as safe, skin irritation can occur when exposed to zirconium powder. The substance isn't thought to be genotoxic or carcinogenic. Human health is unaffected by zirconium.

Zirconia ceramics and jewelry are commonly utilized in everyday life. Zirconium is frequently mined as a byproduct of titanium mining. It is commonly found in lunar rock samples and also in the Sun.

Another source of the material for industry is zircon-rich sand. The most significant difference between zirconium and titanium is that titanium has lower oxidation rates.

Zirconium is mostly used as an alloying agent compared to titanium. A chemical element that belongs to the periodic table group 4 (IVb) and is employed as a structural material in nuclear reactors. Zirconia, an impure oxide, is used to make heat-resistant laboratory crucibles.

The impure oxide zirconia or zirconium oxide is utilized as a refractory material in the glass and ceramic industries, as well as laboratory crucibles that can endure heat shock. Amination, hydrogenation, isomerization, and oxidation processes all use zirconium-based catalysts.

Carbon dioxide can be absorbed using lithium zirconate. Because the process is reversible, the carbon dioxide can be released and the lithium zirconate can be reused. This application causes pollution by carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Zirconium Discovery

Zircon (also known as zirconium silicate) is a gemstone that comes in a variety of colors. The discovery of zirconium was led by Martin Klaproth in 1789. He is from Germany.

The name of the metal is derived from the Persian word 'zargun' meaning 'gold color'. According to a Dutch historian, it has been used in jewelry and other forms of adornment for years.

It resembles a diamond more than any other natural gem. Many beliefs were associated with the mineral such as zircon can instigate wealth, health, honor, sleep, intelligence, overall human efficacy, and it was believed to mitigate negative energies.

A German scientist named Martin Heinrich Klaproth found zirconium in a sample of zircon from Sri Lanka in 1789. The samples composition was discovered to be 25% silica, 0.5% iron oxide, and 70% zirconerde, a novel oxide he called.Zirconerde was introduced by Klaproth, however, he did not know how to isolate the metal from jacinth.

Another failed attempt in 1808 by Sir Humphry Davy tried to separate pure zirconium, but this time he used an electrolysis process. According to Van der Krogt, he did suggest the term zirconium for the metal itself.

A Swedish scientist named Jons J. Berzelius discovered zirconium in 1824. He made pure zirconium by exceeding the temperature of an iron tube with potassium and potassium zirconium fluoride in it.

In 1925 a pure form had been manifested by Jan Hendrik de Boer and Anton Eduard van Arkel while working with ZrCl4 (zirconium tetrachloride) by using decomposition reaction.

This procedure resulted in a pure zirconium crystal bar. In 1945, the Kroll process refined the process of making commercially produced zirconium from zirconium tetrachloride and magnesium, by heating the chemicals together.

Two chemists, Martin Heinrich Klaproth of Germany and Jöns Jacob Berzelius of Sweden are credited with discovering zirconium. These two chemists contributed significantly to the discovery of zirconium.

Martin Heinrich Klaproth, a German chemist, showed that zircon is not a diamond in 1789, dispelling popular misconceptions and establishing it as a mineral. He observed that heating zircon and the reactive chemical sodium hydroxide together resulted in the formation of an oxide.

This oxide, he believes, includes a new element. This new oxide was given the name zirconium oxide, and the new element was given the name zirconium.

Martin Heinrich Klaproth couldn't get the pure form. Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, did not create pure zirconium until 1824, 35 years later after the discovery.

Zirconium Classification Details

Being a transitional and malleable metal, zirconium acquires a silver-gray color spectrum. It has 40 protons in its one atom, meaning the metal's atomic number is 40.

Zirconium has an atomic number 40, a density of 3.8 oz/cubic in (6.5 g/cubic cm), and melting and boiling temperatures of 3,371 F (1,855 C) and 7,968 F (4,408.9 C), respectively.

The presence of the metal is common however the mineral zircon which has high resistance power in corrosive environments is rare to find and it is difficult to extract due to its sophisticated production method.

Zirconium metal is extremely corrosion-resistant and rapidly forms zirconium compounds with other elements.

Zirconium alloys have been utilized as gemstones and for a number of other applications since Biblical times. Zircon and baddeleyite are the most prevalent minerals that contain zirconium.

Zirconium (Zr) is always found combined with hafnium (Hf), and separating the two is extremely difficult. With an atomic weight of 91.22, zirconium has 25 isotopes with known half-lives.

When the temperature is exceeded, zirconium adapts to not participate in corrosion in the presence of circulating coolants. Zirconium and its alloys have been employed in a wide range of applications. In corrosive settings, it is frequently employed.

Zirconium Uses

Zirconium and its alloys have been employed in a wide range of applications. The metal has been used in corrosive settings, quite frequently employed.

Zirconium has many uses in the industrial sector, namely the chemical industry. It is seen to be used in heat exchangers, catalytic converters, artificial gemstones, laboratory apparatus, and surgical instruments.

They have been used while making flashbulb filament, as an alloying agent in steel, abrasives, pipe and fitting attachments, even deodorant. Studies have reflected the effectiveness of zirconium to act as a getter in vacuum tubes to remove residual gases and their carbonate form is responsible for healing poison ivy. The use was discontinued after reports of skin irritation.

For nuclear applications, zircaloy(R) is an important alloy. Because zirconium has a low neutron absorption cross-section, it is employed in the application of nuclear energy such as cladding fuel components.

Because zirconium is extremely resistant to corrosion by seawater, as well as many common acids and alkalis, it is extensively used in the chemical sector where corrosive substances are used.

They gained a fair share of value in the industries of explosive primers, rayon spinnerets, and being in the air can cause it to burst into flames. In poison ivy creams, zirconium carbonate is combined with urushiol.

At temperatures below -396.67 F (-238.15 C), zirconium alloyed with zinc becomes magnetic. Low-temperature superconductive magnets are made from zirconium and niobium.

The possibility of electricity generation through these magnets is being continuously studied. Zirconium in its oxidized form acquires a high index of refraction and becomes a  gemstone with the name of Zircon.

Zirconium Physical And Chemical Properties

Zirconium is a beautiful grayish-white metal with a high luster. When an element is pure, it is malleable and ductile but, when impurities are present, the metal becomes hard and brittle. In terms of hardness, it has a score of 8.5 on the Mohs Scale.

Acids, alkalis, water, and salt do not corrode zirconium, but it does dissolve in hydrochloric or sulfuric acid. Metal that has been finely separated may instantly burn in air, especially at high temperatures, although solid metals of this mineral are rather stable compounds. Zirconium ores contain hafnium, which is difficult to extract from zirconium.

Hafnium is found in commercial-grade zirconium in small concentrations. Hafnium is absent from reactor-grade zirconium. Zirconium is a corrosion-resistant metal in general.

Hydrofluoric acid attacks it quickly, even when the concentration of the acid is low. It is observed that fine particle of zirconium burns at the highest recorded temperature for a metal flame in the atmosphere with high oxygen concentration. In the presence of air, powdered zirconium is highly combustible.

A coat of oxide layer forms on exposed zirconium surfaces. When zirconium tungstate is heated from the lowest point of temperature to the highest, it shrinks.

Zirconium has a weak ability to absorb neutrons. As a result, it's beneficial in nuclear energy applications like the cladding of fuel rods, where it's vital for neutrons to move freely. Zirconium is also highly radioactive and has low toxicity levels.

Zirconium is used to create surgical instruments and as metals used to strengthen or harden steel alloys. Zirconium is widely employed in chemical factories where the environment allows other metals to corrode easily and thus zirconium alloys are used to make heat exchangers, pipes, and other fittings due to its remarkable corrosion resistance.

Superconductive magnets are also made from zirconium. Natural zircon (zirconium silicate, ZrSiO4) is a gemstone, while synthetic cubic zirconia (zirconium dioxide, ZrO2) is a cheap diamond alternative.