What is Zirconium?

Zirconium is the element of the periodic table with atomic number 40 and element symbol Zr. Its elemental form is a high melting point metal, appearing light gray. The surface of zirconium is prone to forming a layer of oxide film, which has a glossy appearance similar to steel. It has corrosion resistance and is soluble in hydrofluoric acid and aqua regia. At high temperatures, it can react with non-metallic elements and many metallic elements to form a solid solution.

Discovery: Martin Klaproth discovered zirconium from the mineral jargoon in 1785. Berzelius first purified the metal in 1824. But, biblical texts refer to zircon, hyacinth, jargoon, ligure, and jacinth, which are zirconium gems and minerals.

Name Origin: The element takes its name for the mineral zircon. The word zircon, in turn, comes from the Persian zargun, which means “golden.”

Isotopes: Natural zirconium consists of five isotopes. Four of these isotopes are stable and one is radioactive. The most common isotopes is zirconium-90, which is a stable isotope that accounts for 51.45% of the element. An additional 28 isotopes have been synthesized.

Physical properties:

Zirconium, atomic number 40, atomic weight 91.224, is a silver gray metal with a shiny appearance resembling steel. It has a melting point of 1852℃, a boiling point of 4377℃, and a density of 6.49 grams per cubic centimeter. 

Atomic number: 40

Proton number: 40

Mohs hardness: 4.5

Melting point: 1852 ℃

Boiling point: 4377 ℃

Density: 6.49g/cm3

Atomic weight: 91.224

Volume: 14.1cm3/mol

Chemical properties:

Zirconium easily absorbs hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; Zirconium has a strong affinity for oxygen, and oxygen dissolved in zirconium at 1000℃ can significantly increase its volume. The surface of zirconium is prone to forming a layer of oxide film, which has a glossy appearance similar to steel. It has corrosion resistance, but is soluble in hydrofluoric acid and aqua regia. At high temperatures, it can react with non-metallic elements and many metallic elements to form solid solutions. Zirconium has good plasticity and is easy to process into plates, wires, etc. Zirconium can absorb a large amount of gases such as oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen during heating, and can be used as a hydrogen storage material. Zirconium has better corrosion resistance than titanium, approaching niobium and tantalum. Zirconium and hafnium are two metals with similar chemical properties and coexisting together, and contain radioactive substances.