ChrOMIUM

from
PROPERTIES, History and Application

Mordant :
Dye and Pigment

Metallurgy :
Chrome Platting

a Metal Polish
Synthetic Ruby and
TheFirst Laser

Health:
Supplement

CHROMIUM:
Shine
Through
History
Chromium is a chemical element with
symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the rst
element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray,lustrous, hard
and brittle metal which takes a high polish, resists
tarnishing, and has a high melting point. The name
of the element is derived from the Greek word
, chrma, meaning colour, because many of
its compounds are intensely coloured.
Chromium oxide was used by the Chinese in
the Qin dynasty over 2,000 years ago to coat metal
weapons found with the Terracotta Army. Chromium
was discovered as an element after it came to the
attention of the western world in the red crystalline
mineralcrocoite (lead(II) chromate), discovered in
1761 and initially used as a pigment. Louis Nicolas
Vauquelin rst isolated chromium metal from this
mineral in 1797. Since Vauquelin's rst production
of metallic chromium, small amounts of native (free)
chromium metal have been discovered in rare
minerals, but these are not used commercially.
Instead, nearly all chromium is commercially
extracted from the single commercially viable ore
chromite, which is iron chromium oxide (FeCr2O4).
Chromite is also now the chief source of chromium
for chromium pigments.
Chromium metal and ferrochromium alloy are
commercially produced from chromite by
silicothermic or aluminothermic reactions, or by
roasting and leaching processes. Chromium metal
has proven of high value due to its high corrosion
resistance and hardness. A major development was
the discovery that steel could be made highly
resistant to corrosion and discoloration by adding
metallic chromium to form stainless steel. This
application, along with chrome plating
(electroplating with chromium) currently comprise
85% of the commercial use for the element, with
applications for chromium compounds forming the
remainder.
Trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) ion is possibly
required in trace amounts for sugar and lipid
metabolism, although the issue remains in debate.
In larger amounts and in different forms, chromium
can be toxic and carcinogenic. The most prominent
example of toxic chromium is hexavalent chromium
(Cr(VI)). Abandoned chromium production sites
often require environmental cleanup.

Chromium is remarkable for its

magnetic properties: it is the only elemental
solid which shows antiferromagnetic ordering
at room temperature (and below). Above 38
C, it transforms into a paramagnetic state.
Chromium metal left standing in air is
passivated by oxygen, forming a thin
protective oxide surface layer. This layer is a
spinelstructure only a few atoms thick. It is
very dense, and prevents the diffusion of
oxygen into the underlying material. This
barrier is in contrast to iron or plain carbon
steels, where the oxygen migrates into the
underlying material and causes rusting.
The passivation can be enhanced by
short contact with oxidizing acids like nitric
acid. Passivated chromium is stable against
acids. The opposite effect can be achieved by
treatment with a strong reducing agent that
destroys the protective oxide layer on the
metal. Chromium metal treated in this way
readily dissolves in weak acids.
Chromium, unlike metals such as iron
and nickel, does not suffer from hydrogen
embrittlement. However, it does suffer from
nitrogen embrittlement, reacting with nitrogen
from air and forming brittle nitrides at the high
temperatures necessary to work the metal
parts.

Transition
Metal

2945 K
BOILS

hard
crystalline

Cr

steel-grayish metal
7.18
g/cm3

2130 K
MELTS

24
652.4 kj/mol First Ionization Energy

CHROME

130 pm atomic R
7.23 cm3/mol atomic volume
118 covalent R
52 (+6e) 63 (+3e) Ionic R
0.488 of 20C J/g mol
21 kj/mol fusion heat
342 kj/mol evap heat
1.66 pauli number
6, 3, 2, 0 oxidation state

References
1.
Fawcett, Eric (1988). "Spin-density-wave antiferromagnetism in chromium". Reviews of
Modern Physics 60: 209. Bibcode:1988RvMP...60..209F.doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.60.209.
2.
Brandes, E. A.; Greenaway, H. T.; Stone, H. E. N. (1956). "Ductility in Chromium".Nature
178 (587): 587. Bibcode:1956Natur.178..587B. doi:10.1038/178587a0.

3.
, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
4.
Cronin, Joseph R. (2004). "The Chromium Controversy". Alternative and Complementary
Therapies 10 (1): 3942. doi:10.1089/107628004772830393.
5.
Wallwork, G. R. (1976). "The oxidation of alloys". Reports on the Progress Physics 39(5):
401485. Bibcode:1976RPPh...39..401W. doi:10.1088/0034-4885/39/5/001.
6.
Holleman, Arnold F.; Wiberg, Egon; Wiberg, Nils; (1985). "Chromium".Lehrbuch der
Anorganischen Chemie (in German) (91100 ed.). Walter de Gruyter. pp. 10811095. ISBN 3-11007511-3.
7.
National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Coatings (1970). High-temperature
oxidation-resistant coatings: coatings for protection from oxidation of superalloys, refractory
metals, and graphite. National Academy of Sciences. ISBN 0-309-01769-6.
8.

http://calorie-smart.com.s3.amazonaws.com/les/2012/09/637-777-large

9.
https://s-media-cacheak0.pinimg.com/236x/71/b2/eb/71b2ebadfc067a9b3aa2c33946d6b616
10.
http://images.neartamerica.com/images-medium-large/nicolas-louis-vauquelin-frenchscience-source
11.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Motorcycle_Reections_bw_edit

12.

http://www.dynachrome.com/chrome/chromium

13.

http://www.chemistry.about.com/od/elementfacts/a/chromium.htm