Vanadium

Key information

Atomic number:

Atomic weight:

Density:

6100 kg/m³

Boiling point:

3723.16° K

Melting point:

2173.16° K

Heat vapour:

443.89 kJ/mol

Heat fusion:

17.59 kJ/mol

Thermal conductivity:

4 W/m/K

Vanadium is a soft and ductile, silver-grey metal. It has oxides which are amphoteric - they have some characteristics of metals and some of non-metals. The oxidation states of vanadium include +2, +3, +4 and +5 (a +1 oxidation state is rarely seen), each of which has a different colour: all four common states can be demonstrated colorimetrically. A popular experiment places a zinc amalgam in a container into which ammonium vanadate (NH₄VO₃) is poured. The compound is reduced in stages: