In chemistry and physics, the iron group refers to elements that are in some way related to iron; mostly in period (row) 4 of the periodic table. The term has different meanings in different contexts.
In chemistry, the term is largely obsolete, but it often means iron, cobalt, and nickel, also called the iron triad; [1] or, sometimes, other elements that resemble iron in some chemical aspects.
In astrophysics and nuclear physics, the term is still quite common, and it typically means those three plus chromium and manganese—five elements that are exceptionally abundant, both on Earth and elsewhere in the universe, compared to their neighbors in the periodic table. Titanium and vanadium are also produced in Type Ia supernovae. [2]
In chemistry, "iron group" used to refer to iron and the next two elements in the periodic table, namely cobalt and nickel. These three comprised the "iron triad". [1] They are the top elements of groups 8, 9, and 10 of the periodic table; or the top row of "group VIII" in the old (pre-1990) IUPAC system, or of "group VIIIB" in the CAS system. [3] These three metals (and the three of the platinum group, immediately below them) were set aside from the other elements because they have obvious similarities in their chemistry, but are not obviously related to any of the other groups. The iron group and its alloys exhibit ferromagnetism.
The similarities in chemistry were noted as one of Döbereiner's triads and by Adolph Strecker in 1859. [4] Indeed, Newlands' "octaves" (1865) were harshly criticized for separating iron from cobalt and nickel. [5] Mendeleev stressed that groups of "chemically analogous elements" could have similar atomic weights as well as atomic weights which increase by equal increments, both in his original 1869 paper [6] and his 1889 Faraday Lecture. [7]
In the traditional methods of qualitative inorganic analysis, the iron group consists of those cations which
The main cations in the iron group are iron itself (Fe2+ and Fe3+), aluminium (Al3+) and chromium (Cr3+). [8] If manganese is present in the sample, a small amount of hydrated manganese dioxide is often precipitated with the iron group hydroxides. [8] Less common cations which are precipitated with the iron group include beryllium, titanium, zirconium, vanadium, uranium, thorium and cerium. [9]
The iron group in astrophysics is the group of elements from chromium to nickel, which are substantially more abundant in the universe than those that come after them – or immediately before them – in order of atomic number. [10] The study of the abundances of iron group elements relative to other elements in stars and supernovae allows the refinement of models of stellar evolution.
The explanation for this relative abundance can be found in the process of nucleosynthesis in certain stars, specifically those of about 8–11 Solar masses. At the end of their lives, once other fuels have been exhausted, such stars can enter a brief phase of "silicon burning". [11] This involves the sequential addition of helium nuclei 4
2He
(an "alpha process") to the heavier elements present in the star, starting from 28
14Si
:
28 14Si | + | 4 2He | → | 32 16S |
32 16S | + | 4 2He | → | 36 18Ar |
36 18Ar | + | 4 2He | → | 40 20Ca |
40 20Ca | + | 4 2He | → | 44 22Ti [note 1] |
44 22Ti | + | 4 2He | → | 48 24Cr |
48 24Cr | + | 4 2He | → | 52 26Fe |
52 26Fe | + | 4 2He | → | 56 28Ni |
All of these nuclear reactions are exothermic: the energy that is released partially offsets the gravitational contraction of the star. However, the series ends at 56
28Ni
, as the next reaction in the series
56 28Ni | + | 4 2He | → | 60 30Zn |
is endothermic. With no further source of energy to support itself, the core of the star collapses on itself while the outer regions are blown off in a Type II supernova. [11]
Nickel-56 is unstable with respect to beta decay, and the final stable product of silicon burning is 56
26Fe
.
Nuclide mass [12] | Mass defect [13] | Binding energy per nucleon [14] | |
---|---|---|---|
62 28Ni | 61.9283448(5) u | 0.5700031(6) u | 8.563872(10) MeV |
58 26Fe | 57.9332736(3) u | 0.5331899(8) u | 8.563158(12) MeV |
56 26Fe | 55.93493554(29) u | 0.5141981(7) u | 8.553080(12) MeV |
It is often incorrectly stated that iron-56 is exceptionally common because it is the most stable of all the nuclides. [10] This is not quite true: 62
28Ni
and 58
26Fe
have slightly higher binding energies per nucleon – that is, they are slightly more stable as nuclides – as can be seen from the table on the right. [15] However, there are no rapid nucleosynthetic routes to these nuclides.
In fact, there are several stable nuclides of elements from chromium to nickel around the top of the stability curve, accounting for their relative abundance in the universe. The nuclides which are not on the direct alpha-process pathway are formed by the s-process, the capture of slow neutrons within the star.
A chemical element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical reactions. The basic particle that constitutes a chemical element is the atom. Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in the nuclei of their atoms, known as the element's atomic number. For example, oxygen has an atomic number of 8, meaning that each oxygen atom has 8 protons in its nucleus. Two or more atoms of the same element can combine to form molecules, in contrast to chemical compounds or mixtures, which contain atoms of different elements. Atoms can be transformed into different elements in nuclear reactions, which change an atom's atomic number.
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slow to react with air under standard conditions because a passivation layer of nickel oxide forms on the surface that prevents further corrosion. Even so, pure native nickel is found in Earth's crust only in tiny amounts, usually in ultramafic rocks, and in the interiors of larger nickel–iron meteorites that were not exposed to oxygen when outside Earth's atmosphere.
The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows ("periods") and columns ("groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other sciences. It is a depiction of the periodic law, which states that when the elements are arranged in order of their atomic numbers an approximate recurrence of their properties is evident. The table is divided into four roughly rectangular areas called blocks. Elements in the same group tend to show similar chemical characteristics.
In chemistry, a transition metal is a chemical element in the d-block of the periodic table, though the elements of group 12 are sometimes excluded. The lanthanide and actinide elements are called inner transition metals and are sometimes considered to be transition metals as well.
Stable nuclides are nuclides that are not radioactive and so do not spontaneously undergo radioactive decay. When such nuclides are referred to in relation to specific elements, they are usually termed stable isotopes.
Nucleosynthesis is the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons and nuclei. According to current theories, the first nuclei were formed a few minutes after the Big Bang, through nuclear reactions in a process called Big Bang nucleosynthesis. After about 20 minutes, the universe had expanded and cooled to a point at which these high-energy collisions among nucleons ended, so only the fastest and simplest reactions occurred, leaving our universe containing hydrogen and helium. The rest is traces of other elements such as lithium and the hydrogen isotope deuterium. Nucleosynthesis in stars and their explosions later produced the variety of elements and isotopes that we have today, in a process called cosmic chemical evolution. The amounts of total mass in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium remains small, so that the universe still has approximately the same composition.
In chemistry, a group is a column of elements in the periodic table of the chemical elements. There are 18 numbered groups in the periodic table; the 14 f-block columns, between groups 2 and 3, are not numbered. The elements in a group have similar physical or chemical characteristics of the outermost electron shells of their atoms, because most chemical properties are dominated by the orbital location of the outermost electron.
A period 4 element is one of the chemical elements in the fourth row of the periodic table of the chemical elements. The periodic table is laid out in rows to illustrate recurring (periodic) trends in the chemical behaviour of the elements as their atomic number increases: a new row is begun when chemical behaviour begins to repeat, meaning that elements with similar behaviour fall into the same vertical columns. The fourth period contains 18 elements beginning with potassium and ending with krypton – one element for each of the eighteen groups. It sees the first appearance of d-block in the table.
The abundance of the chemical elements is a measure of the occurrence of the chemical elements relative to all other elements in a given environment. Abundance is measured in one of three ways: by mass fraction, by mole fraction, or by volume fraction. Volume fraction is a common abundance measure in mixed gases such as planetary atmospheres, and is similar in value to molecular mole fraction for gas mixtures at relatively low densities and pressures, and ideal gas mixtures. Most abundance values in this article are given as mass fractions.
Group 8 is a group (column) of chemical elements in the periodic table. It consists of iron (Fe), ruthenium (Ru), osmium (Os) and hassium (Hs). "Group 8" is the modern standard designation for this group, adopted by the IUPAC in 1990. It should not be confused with "group VIIIA" in the CAS system, which is group 18, the noble gases. In the older group naming systems, this group was combined with groups 9 and 10 and called group "VIIIB" in the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) "U.S. system", or "VIII" in the old IUPAC (pre-1990) "European system". The elements in this group are all transition metals that lie in the d-block of the periodic table.
Naturally occurring nickel (28Ni) is composed of five stable isotopes; 58
Ni
, 60
Ni
, 61
Ni
, 62
Ni
and 64
Ni
, with 58
Ni
being the most abundant. 26 radioisotopes have been characterised with the most stable being 59
Ni
with a half-life of 76,000 years, 63
Ni
with a half-life of 100.1 years, and 56
Ni
with a half-life of 6.077 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 60 hours and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 30 seconds. This element also has 8 meta states.
Naturally occurring manganese (25Mn) is composed of one stable isotope, 55Mn. 26 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 53Mn with a half-life of 3.7 million years, 54Mn with a half-life of 312.3 days, and 52Mn with a half-life of 5.591 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 3 hours and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than a minute. This element also has 3 meta states.
Naturally occurring iron (26Fe) consists of four stable isotopes: 5.845% of 54Fe (possibly radioactive with a half-life over 4.4×1020 years), 91.754% of 56Fe, 2.119% of 57Fe and 0.286% of 58Fe. There are 24 known radioactive isotopes, the most stable of which are 60Fe (half-life 2.6 million years) and 55Fe (half-life 2.7 years).
Naturally occurring chromium (24Cr) is composed of four stable isotopes; 50Cr, 52Cr, 53Cr, and 54Cr with 52Cr being the most abundant (83.789% natural abundance). 50Cr is suspected of decaying by β+β+ to 50Ti with a half-life of (more than) 1.8×1017 years. Twenty-two radioisotopes, all of which are entirely synthetic, have been characterized, the most stable being 51Cr with a half-life of 27.7 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 24 hours and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 1 minute. This element also has two meta states, 45mCr, the more stable one, and 59mCr, the least stable isotope or isomer.
Naturally occurring titanium (22Ti) is composed of five stable isotopes; 46Ti, 47Ti, 48Ti, 49Ti and 50Ti with 48Ti being the most abundant. Twenty-one radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being 44Ti with a half-life of 60 years, 45Ti with a half-life of 184.8 minutes, 51Ti with a half-life of 5.76 minutes, and 52Ti with a half-life of 1.7 minutes. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 33 seconds, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than half a second.
The bead test is a traditional part of qualitative inorganic analysis to test for the presence of certain metals. The oldest one is the borax bead test or blister test. It was introduced by Berzelius in 1812. Since then other salts were used as fluxing agents, such as sodium carbonate or sodium fluoride. The most important one after borax is microcosmic salt, which is the basis of the microcosmic salt bead test.
An iron–nickel alloy or nickel–iron alloy, abbreviated FeNi or NiFe, is a group of alloys consisting primarily of the elements nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe). It is the main constituent of the "iron" planetary cores and iron meteorites. In chemistry, the acronym NiFe refers to an iron–nickel catalyst or component involved in various chemical reactions, or the reactions themselves; in geology, it refers to the main constituents of telluric planetary cores.
Isotopes are distinct nuclear species of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number and position in the periodic table, but differ in nucleon numbers due to different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. While all isotopes of a given element have similar chemical properties, they have different atomic masses and physical properties.
Heavy metals are generally defined as metals with relatively high densities, atomic weights, or atomic numbers. The criteria used, and whether metalloids are included, vary depending on the author and context. In metallurgy, for example, a heavy metal may be defined on the basis of density, whereas in physics the distinguishing criterion might be atomic number, while a chemist would likely be more concerned with chemical behaviour. More specific definitions have been published, none of which have been widely accepted. The definitions surveyed in this article encompass up to 96 out of the 118 known chemical elements; only mercury, lead and bismuth meet all of them. Despite this lack of agreement, the term is widely used in science. A density of more than 5 g/cm3 is sometimes quoted as a commonly used criterion and is used in the body of this article.