Vanadium (V)
Element 23 · Transition metal · Solid at 25 °C · Group 5, Period 4
Vanadium is mostly used to toughen steel; a small percentage makes tool steels and springs far stronger.
On the periodic table, vanadium sits in group 5 in period 4. It is one of 38 elements classified as a transition metal, and at room temperature (25 °C) it is a solid.
Transition metals occupy the wide d-block in the middle of the table. As a family they are hard, dense, high-melting metals that conduct heat and electricity well. Their partly filled d-orbitals let many of them take several oxidation states, form vividly colored compounds, and act as catalysts — which is why so much of industry, and so much of biology, runs on this block.
Properties of vanadium
| Atomic number (Z) | 23 |
|---|---|
| Symbol | V |
| Atomic mass | 50.942 |
| Category | Transition metal |
| Group | 5 |
| Period | 4 |
| Block | d-block |
| Metal / nonmetal | Metal |
| State at 25 °C | Solid |
| Electron configuration | [Ar] 3d3 4s2 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.63 |
| Melting point | 1,910 °C (2,183.15 K / 3,470 °F) |
| Boiling point | 3,407 °C (3,680.15 K / 6,164.6 °F) |
| Density | 6.11 g/cm³ |
Position in the periodic table
Vanadium shares group 5 with Niobium (Nb), Tantalum (Ta), Dubnium (Db). Elements in the same group have the same number of outer electrons, so they tend to behave alike chemically — comparing them is one of the fastest ways to see periodic trends in action.
Physical properties
Vanadium melts at 1,910 °C (2,183.15 K / 3,470 °F) and boils at 3,407 °C (3,680.15 K / 6,164.6 °F), giving it a liquid range of about 1,497 °C at standard pressure.
Its density is 6.11 g/cm³.
See also: the interactive periodic table, how to read the periodic table, periodic trends.