NICKEL

Nickel is a chemical element, with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. It is one of the four ferromagnetic elements at about room temperature, other three being iron, cobalt and gadolinium. Its use has been traced as far back as 3 !! "#, but it was first isolated and classified as a chemical element in $% $ by &'el (redrik #ronstedt, who initially mistook its ore for a copper mineral. Its most important ore minerals are laterites, including limonite and garnierite, and pentlandite.

Properties
Atomic )he electronic configuration of isolated nickel atom is counterintuitive* direct investigation finds that the predominant electron structure of nickle is +&r, -s$ 3d., which is the more stable form because of relativistic effects. /hereas 0und1s rule, which works well for most other elements, predicts an electron shell structure of +&r, 3d8 -s2 2the symbol +&r, refers to the argon-like core structure3. )his latter configuration is found in many chemistry te'tbooks and is also written as +&r, -s2 3d8, to emphasi4e that the 3d shell is the electron shell being filled by the highest-energy electrons. Physical Nickel is a silvery-white metal with a slight golden tinge that takes a high polish. Its #urie temperature is 3 5# that is nickel is non-magnetic above this temperature. )he unit cell of nickel is a face centered cube with the lattice parameter of !.3 2 nm giving an atomic radius of !.$2- nm. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile. It occurs most often in combination with sulfur and iron in pentlandite, with sulfur in millerite, with arsenic in the mineral nickeline, and with arsenic and sulfur in nickel galena. Nickel is commonly found in iron meteorites as the alloys kamacite and taenite. 6imilar to the elements chromium, aluminium and titanium, nickel is a very reactive element, but is slow to react in air at normal temperatures and pressures due to the formation of a protective o'ide surface. 7ue to its permanence in air and its

slow rate of o'idation, it is used in coins, for plating metals such as iron and brass, for chemical apparatus, and in certain alloys such as 8erman silver. Isotopes Naturally occurring nickel is composed of
8

stable isotopes9 8Ni, :!Ni, :$Ni, :2Ni and :-Ni with

Ni being the most abundant. :2Ni is the most stable known nuclide of all the e'isting elements,
:

even e'ceeding the stability of

(e. $8 radioisotopes have been characterised with the most

stable being .Ni with a half-life of %:,!!! years, :3Ni with a half-life of $!!.$ years, and :Ni with a half-life of :.!%% days. &ll of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than :! hours and the ma;ority of these have half-lives that are less than 3! seconds. )his element also has $ meta state. Chemical

Nickel sulfate crystals

)etracarbonyl nickel

Nickel2II3 sulfate is produced in large <uantities by dissolving nickel metal or o'ides in sulfuric acid. )his compound is useful for electroplating nickel. Nickel has a lot of compounds and comple' which present the o'idation states -$, !, =$, =2, =3, =-. )he o'idation state =2 is the most common one, being known a great number of compounds, namely the hydro'ide Ni2>032, the o'ide Ni>, salts of all the inorganic acids and of a great number of organic acids. &mong these we refer the sulfate, usually used in electroplating solutions, the acetate, used as catalyst and mordant in the te'tile industry, the formate, used in the production of catalysts, the isodecylorthophosphate and the naphthenate, used as motor oil and lubricants additives, and many other, with several applications in the

laboratory and in chemical industry. )he most common o'idation state of nickel is =2 with several Ni comple'es known. It is also thought that a =: o'idation state may e'ist, however, this has not been demonstrated conclusively. (our halides are known to form nickel compounds, these are nickel2II3 fluoride, chloride, bromide, and iodide. Nickel2II3 chloride is produced analogously by dissolving nickel residues in hydrochloric acid. )he compounds of Ni 2!3 are <uite usual, with special relevance to the carbonyl )etracarbonylnickel 2Ni2#>3-3, discovered by ?udwig @ond, is a homoleptic comple' of nickel with carbon mono'ide. 0aving no net dipole moment, intermolecular forces are relatively weak, allowing this compound to be li<uid at room temperature. #arbon mono'ide reacts with nickel metal readily to give this compound9 on heating, the comple' decomposes back to nickel and carbon mono'ide. )his behavior is e'ploited in the @ond process for generating high-purity nickel. )etracoordinate nickel2II3 takes both tetrahedral and s<uare planar geometries. )his is in contrast with the other group $! elements, which tend to e'ist as s<uare planar comple'es. "is2cyclooctadiene3nickel2!3 is a useful intermediate in organometallic chemistry due to the easily displaced cod ligands. Nickel2III3 o'ide is used as the cathode in many rechargeable batteries, including nickel-cadmium, nickel-iron, nickel hydrogen, and nickel-metal hydride, and used by certain manufacturers in ?i-ion batteries. &mong the numerous nickel comple'es 2II3, we refer to the di-n-butyldithiocarbamate, o'idation inhibitor in the industry of synthetic rubber, the dimethylglyo'ime, used in analysis and as pigment in beauty products, the nickel phthalocyanine nickel 2II3, blue pigment used in the industry of the colorings, the nickelocene, organometallic compound used as catalyst, etc.

Occurrence
)he bulk of the nickel mined comes from two types of ore deposits. )he first are laterites where the principal ore minerals are nickeliferous limonite* 2(e, Ni3>2>03 and garnierite 2a hydrous nickel silicate3* 2Ni,@g336i2> 2>03. )he second are magmatic sulfide deposits where the principal ore mineral is pentlandite* 2Ni,(e3.68.

In terms of supply, the 6udbury region of >ntario, #anada, produces about 3!A of the world1s supply of nickel. )he 6udbury "asin deposit is theori4ed to have been created by a meteorite impact event early in the geologic history of Barth. Cussia contains about -!A of the world1s known resources at the Norilsk deposit in 6iberia. )he Cussian mining company @@# Norilsk Nickel obtains the nickel and the associated palladium for world distribution. >ther ma;or deposits of nickel are found in New #aledonia, (rance, &ustralia, #uba, and Indonesia. 7eposits found in tropical areas typically consist of laterites which are produced by the intense weathering of ultramafic igneous rocks and the resulting secondary concentration of nickel bearing o'ide and silicate minerals. Cecently, a nickel deposit in western )urkey had been e'ploited, with this location being especially convenient for Buropean smelters, steelmakers and factories. )he one locality in the Dnited 6tates where nickel was commercially mined is Ciddle, >regon, where several s<uare miles of nickel-bearing garnierite surface deposits are located. )he mine closed in $.8%. In 2!! , Cussia was the largest producer of nickel with about one-fifth world share closely followed by #anada, &ustralia and Indonesia, as reported by the "ritish 8eological 6urvey. "ased on geophysical evidence, most of the nickel on Barth is postulated to be concentrated in the Barth1s core. Eamacite and taenite are naturally occurring alloys of iron and nickel. (or kamacite the alloy is usually in the proportion of .!*$! to . * although impurities such as cobalt or carbon may be present, while for taenite the nickel content is between 2!A and : A. Eamacite and taenite occur in nickel-iron meteorites.

Extraction and purification

Nickel is recovered through e'tractive metallurgy. @ost sulfide ores have traditionally been processed using pyrometallurgical techni<ues to produce a matte for further refining. Cecent advances in hydrometallurgy have resulted in recent nickel processing operations being developed using these processes. @ost sulfide deposits have traditionally been processed by concentration through a froth flotation process followed by pyrometallurgical e'traction.

Nickel is e'tracted from its ores by conventional roasting and reduction processes which yield a metal of greater than % A purity. (inal purification of nickel o'ides is performed via the @ond process, which increases the nickel concentrate to greater than .....A purity. )his process was patented by ?. @ond and was used in 6outh /ales in the 2!th century. Nickel is reacted with carbon mono'ide at around ! 5# to form volatile nickel carbonyl. &ny impurities remain solid while the nickel carbonyl gas passes into a large chamber at high temperatures in which tens of

thousands of nickel spheres, called pellets, are constantly stirred. )he nickel carbonyl decomposes, depositing pure nickel onto the nickel spheres. &lternatively, the nickel carbonyl may be decomposed in a smaller chamber at 23! 5# to create fine nickel powder. )he resultant carbon mono'ide is re-circulated through the process. )he highly pure nickel produced by this process is known as carbonyl nickel. & second common form of refining involves the leaching of the metal matte followed by the electro-winning of the nickel from solution by plating it onto a cathode. In many stainless steel applications, % A pure nickel can be used without further purification depending on the composition of the impurities. Nickel sulfide ores undergo flotation 2differential flotation if NiF(e ratio is too low3 and then are smelted. &fter producing the nickel matte, further processing is done via the 6herritt-8ordon process. (irst copper is removed by adding hydrogen sulfide, leaving a concentrate of only cobalt and nickel. 6olvent e'traction then efficiently separates the cobalt and nickel, with the final nickel concentration greater than ..A.

Applications
Nickel is used in many industrial and consumer products, including stainless steel, magnets, coinage, rechargeable batteries, electric guitar strings and special alloys. It is also used for plating and as a green tint in glass. Nickel is pre-eminently an alloy metal, and its chief use is in the nickel steels and nickel cast irons, of which there are many varieties. It is also widely used in many other alloys, such as nickel brasses and bron4es, and alloys with copper, chromium, aluminium, lead, cobalt, silver, and gold. )he amounts of nickel used for various applications are :!A used for making nickel steels, $-A used in nickel-copper alloys and nickel silver, .A used to make malleable nickel, nickel clad, Inconel and other superalloys, :A used in plating, 3A use for nickel cast irons, 3A in heat and electric resistance alloys, such as Nichrome, 2A used for nickel brasses and bron4es with the remaining 3A of the nickel consumption in all other applications combined. In the laboratory, nickel is fre<uently used as a catalyst for hydrogenation, most often using Caney nickel, a finely divided form of the metal alloyed with aluminium which adsorbs hydrogen gas. Nickel is often used in coins, or occasionally as a substitute for decorative silver. )he &merican 1nickel1 five-

cent coin is % A copper and 2 A nickel. )he #anadian nickel minted at various periods between $.22-8$ was ....A nickel, and was magnetic. Garious other nations have historically used and still use nickel in their coinage. Nickel is also used in fire assay as a collector of platinum group elements, as it is capable of full collection of all : elements, in addition to partial collection of gold. )his is seen through the nature of nickel as a metal, as high throughput nickel mines may run H8B recovery 2primarily platinum and palladium3, such as Norilsk in Cussia and the 6udbury "asin in #anada. Nickel foam or nickel mesh is used in gas diffusion electrodes for alkaline fuel cells.

Biological role
Nickel plays numerous roles in the biology of microorganisms and plants, though they were not recogni4ed until the $.%!s. In fact urease 2an en4yme which assists in the hydrolysis of urea3 contains nickel. )he Ni(e-hydrogenases contain nickel in addition to iron-sulfur clusters. 6uch +Ni(e,-hydrogenases characteristically o'idise 02. & nickel-tetrapyrrole coen4yme, (-3!, is present in the methyl coen4yme @ reductase which powers methanogenic archaea. >ne of the carbon mono'ide dehydrogenase en4ymes consists of an (e-Ni-6 cluster. >ther nickelcontaining en4ymes include a class of supero'ide dismutase and a glyo'alase.

Toxicity
B'posure to nickel metal and soluble compounds should not e'ceed !.! mgFcmI in nickel e<uivalents per -!-hour work week. Nickel sulfide fume and dust is believed to be carcinogenic, and various other nickel compounds may be as well. Nickel carbonyl, +Ni2#>3-,, is an e'tremely to'ic gas. )he to'icity of metal carbonyls is a function of both the to'icity of the metal as well as the carbonyl1s ability to give off highly to'ic carbon mono'ide gas, and this one is no e'ception. It is e'plosive in air. 6ensiti4ed individuals may show an allergy to nickel affecting their skin, also known as dermatitis. 6ensitivity to nickel may also be present in patients with pompholy'. Nickel is an important cause of contact allergy, partly due to its use in ;ewellery intended for pierced ears. Nickel allergies affecting pierced ears are often marked by itchy, red skin. @any earrings are

now made nickel-free due to this problem. )he amount of nickel which is allowed in products which come into contact with human skin is regulated by the Buropean Dnion. In 2!!2 researchers found amounts of nickel being emitted by $ and 2 Buro coins far in e'cess of those standards. )his is believed to be due to a galvanic reaction.

Nic el!Cadmium Battery

Nickel-cadmium batteries may be recharged many times and have a relatively constant potential during discharge. )hey will stand more electrical and physical abuse than any other cell, have good low temperature performance characteristics, and are more than competitive with other systems in terms of cost per hour of use.