Nickel

iso	NA	half-life	DT	DE (MeV)	DP
⁵⁶N	syn	6.075d	ε	-	56Co
⁵⁷N	syn	6.075d	γ	0.158, 0.811	-
⁵⁸N	68.077%	is stable with 58 neutrons.
⁵⁹N	syn	76000 y	ε	-	59Co
⁶⁰N	26.233%	is stable with 32 neutrons.
⁶¹N	1.14%	is stable with 33 neutrons.
⁶²N	3.634%	is stable with 34 neutrons.
⁶³N	syn	100.1 y	β-	0.0669	63Cu
⁶⁴N	0.926%	is stable with 36 neutrons.

All properties are for STP unless otherwise stated.

Nickel is a chemical element which belongs to the chemical series known as the transition metals. It has an atomic number of 28 and is designated by the symbol Ni. It appears metallic, with a silvery tinge. It belongs in group 10 and period 4 between cobalt and copper.(Cox, 104-105) Most nickel exists in the core of the Earth, which humans cannot access. From space, some meteorites fall to Earth which contain about ten percent nickel and the rest iron. [1] Nowadays, people use transition metals (especially nickel) in many ways; these include coins, electrical wires, and so on. Nickel is mainly used in alloys such as stainless steel, also known as corrosion resistant steel. The main health trouble associated with nickel is allergy, which can be caused by prolonged contact with nickel. Also, drinking or eating food which contains nickel could cause various diseases. [2]

Properties

Nickel belongs to the transition metals group, which is located in the center of the periodic table. In other words, it is in the iron and cobalt group of metals. Its electron configuration is [Ar]4s⁶3d⁸, its melting point is about 1726K, and boiling point is 3005K. Nickel's appearance includes a silvery tinge and metallic luster. Also, nickel has a high density and marked strength. In addition, it also belongs to the iron group, of which most are shiny, and work well with heat and electricity. [3] In compounds, nickel combines with other elements like oxygen to form nickel compounds, which are mostly blue or green.

Most of the transition metals have many chemical properties, because of their large energy electron shells occupying the d sublevels. In addition, nickel's close energy sublevels allow electrons to jump from one to another easily.(Cox 121) Moreover, nickel is an unreactive element which means it does not corrode easily with other elements. For example, nickel does not react with air, and even at high temperature, nickel does not react with oxygen, although there are some nickel oxides. In addition, nickel and water do not react in any conditions. [4] Some examples of compounds of nickel are nickel difluoride, nickel dichloride, nickel oxide, and nickel sulphide. [5]

Occurrences

Nickel smelter in Noumea, New Caledonia, which is a French Territory in the Pacific.

This is a site where the nickel-iron meteorite fell on Earth 49.000 years ago.

Nickel can be found underground, however, most nickel is believed to reside in the core of Earth, where mines can not reach. About 8 billion tons are thought to be buried in the sea and ground. Mining areas, such as in, Russia, South Africa, USA, and Canada, produce about 13 million tons in a year. [6] In addition, iron meteorites are rocks that contain high amounts of nickel and have fallen to the Earth from space. In fact, the presence of nickel serves as the criteria to distinguish meteorites from other minerals. Meteorite ores have been discovered in Canada, Australia, Cuba and Indonesia.[7] Moreover, in the USA, there is only one place that mines nickel, in Riddle, Oregon, where they mined about fifteen thousand tons. The largest producer of nickel in the world is Russia. Russia has a large nickel mining city called Norilsk. [8]

To extract nickel from ore, such as nickel sulfide, they heat the ore in air, by which nickel sulfide is changed to nickel oxide. After nickel oxide is generated, it is reacted with water gas, a gas containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen made by passing steam over red-hot coal, to generate nickel tetracarbonyl, (Ni(CO)4).[9] This very toxic gas is disintegrated by heat, leaving nickel powder and carbon monoxide.

Uses

The Chrysler Building, covered with stainless steel.

People use transition metals in many ways, such as, coins, electrical wires, artificial hip joints and even in red blood cells. The transition metal, nickel, is mainly used for alloys such as stainless steel, tubes made from copper and nickel used to desalinate sea water, ceramics in which nickel can change the color to green, and in some batteries. [10] The U.S. five cent coin, also known as the nickel, only contains 25 percent nickel, the rest being copper.[11]

Stainless steel, also known as corrosion resistant steel, was discovered by Harry Brearly, who created stainless steel accidentally, by adding chromium to steel which was found to not rust. The chromium forms a very thin layer on the surface of the steel which keeps oxygen from reacting with the iron to form rust. Later it was discovered that by adding Nickel or Molybdenum to stainless steel, the stainless steel became non magnetic(even though alloys with other metals become more magnetic when nickel is added) and stronger. Moreover, the stainless steel could be used in buildings and table wares, because nickel as well as chromium forms layers which protects metal from damage by corrosion. The most common stainless steels used (such as Type 304), contain 18% chromium and 8% nickel.[12]

A second use of nickel is in coins, such as the US five cent coin, made from nickel and copper. Third, nickel can be used in batteries, combining nickel with cadmium (ni-cad batteries) or nickel with metal hydride.[13] Moreover, nickel can be easily recycled, which means it can be reused in many ways. It is easy to recycle because nickel is expensive, and so sought out for recycling. Most metals rust in a few years and are difficult to identify, but metals containing nickel are noncorroding, stainless, and easy to identify to recycle. Often in recycling stainless items, industry can use the exact same combination of alloys without needing to refine the separate metals, saving money. Nearly 80% of nickel containing products are presently recycled. Recycling can save time and money, and protect the environment. [14]

Health Effects

There are two main health problems or troubles with nickel. First, contact dermatitis can come from allergy to nickel. Some people become allergic to the element nickel, one of the few chemical elements which can cause allergies. [15] Stainless steel earrings. bracelets and jewelry are the worst offenders, because continual contact with nickel can cause allergy. The best way to avoid trouble is by avoiding contact with nickel containing items. "The European Union has banned earrings with more than 0.05% nickel."[16]

If someone is allergic, within two days of contact with Nickel, their skin will change to red and start to have blisters. Then, dermatitis can develop. In addition, drinking water and eating foods which contain small amounts of nickel can cause trouble for people who have the allergy. To minimize the nickel allergy, sufferers should use a moisture cream, which can decrease the rash and itch. Second, they should safeguard their body from nickel, especially by coating jewelry that contains nickel with nail polish. Lastly, they should watch out for everything that they buy, not only jewelry, but any metal which contains nickel, such as coins, buckles, zippers, and so on. [17]

The second health problem is exposure to some of the toxic intermediate chemicals used in nickel refining. With development of industry and mechanization, many other diseases occur, not just by contact with nickel but by other exposures which sometimes result in cancer, birth defects, and heart disease. [18][19]

History

The element Nickel was discovered in 1751 by the Swedish minerologist, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, who found nickel in an ore that had the same greenish tint as copper ore but reacted chemically in a different way. Nickel has a green color, but before it was discovered, its ore was thought to be a 'fake copper' and was called kupfernickel (old Nick's copper or devil's copper), which was used to color glass green. [20] However, actually, China used Nickel first in 235 BC, calling copper containing nickel 'white copper'. Since it was harder than normal copper (being copper with about 20% nickel included), they used it for metal ware. This white copper came from Bacteria, which was a territory conquered by King Alexander the Great, and was used by the Chinese until trade was broken off.[21]

References

Cox, Heather, et al. Chemistry for Christian Schools. BJU Press, 2000.
WebElements Periodic Table Nickel table data
Environmental Chemistry periodic table of elements:Nickel
Nickel uses Mineral Information Institute. multiple authors
Nickel Health Effects Nickel in the Environment and Health. multiple authors
properties of nickel Lenntech Nickel. multiple authors
Nickel Chemistryexplained.com
Background of Nickel Azom Materials. The A to Z of Materials. multiple authors.
Nickel chemical-elements.info. multiple authors.
History of element nickel the nickel enviro metal. multiple authors.
Nickel allergy Revolution Health Group LLC.

Nickel

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Properties

Occurrences

Uses

Health Effects

History

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