Vanadium is a chemical element with symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery grey, ductile and malleable transition metal. The element is found only in chemically combined form in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the free metal somewhat against further oxidation.
Three reasons Vanadium stands out
- 1
Used in steel alloys for strength.
- 2
Adding it to steel helps make durable tools and vehicle parts.
- 3
Flow batteries using this element are a leading technology for large-scale electricity grid storage.
The colorful chemistry of vanadium
Vanadium can adopt several oxidation states, producing solutions that shift through violet, green, blue, and yellow. Steelmakers use modest additions to strengthen tools and structural alloys. Flow batteries exploit the element’s multiple charge states on both sides of a cell, avoiding contamination by a foreign metal.