Permanent magnets are also made using alnico which is an alloy of cobalt, nickel, iron, and aluminum.Ĭobalt alloys are also suitable for making artificial implants as they do not wear easily. For example, turbine blades for gas turbines and aircraft jet engines are made using cobalt alloys.Ĭobalt is also used in making high-speed steel making them more wear and heat resistant. Nickel is added to cobalt alloys to make them more heat resistant so they can tolerate a wider range of temperatures.īeing strong as well as temperature and heat resistant, cobalt alloys are used in challenging applications. The basic composition of most cobalt alloys is cobalt and chromium where chromium acts as the strengthening agent. Cobalt is used in making superalloys that are resistant to corrosion, wear, as well as temperature. A few uses of cobalt are listed below: Commercial Uses Ĭobalt is used to produce high-performance alloys that exhibit favorable mechanical properties. Also, it plays a significant role in the biological functioning of human beings. Having noted all the important properties of Cobalt, we can now move forward to study its different uses.Ĭobalt has several uses in different industries. At high temperatures, it is attacked by oxygen and water vapors to form Cobaltous oxide.Īlthough large pieces of cobalt are relatively inert in air, extensive oxidation takes place at temperatures above 300 ☌.Ī few important properties of cobalt are listed in the table given below:Ĩ.90 g/cm3 at room temperature8.86 g/cm3 at the melting point It does not directly combine with nitrogen or hydrogen, but slowly dissolves in mineral acids. This is the highest Curie point known for any metal or alloy. It is known to be ferromagnetic up to a temperature as high as 1,121 ☌ or 2,050 ☏. They are hexagonal close pack structure which is stable below 417 ☌ or 783 ☏, and face-centered cubic which is stable at even higher temperatures.Ĭobalt, alongside nickel and iron, is the third element that is ferromagnetic at room temperature. There are two allotropes of cobalt known so far. Polished cobalt is silvery-white in appearance and gives a slight bluish tinge. It is a d-block element belonging to Group 9 and Period 4. It is denoted by the chemical symbol Co and has the atomic number 27. So keep reading.Ĭobalt is a transition metal. So, aren’t you amazed by the characteristics of this wonderful metal? Are you excited to know more about it? It is hard, lustrous, and silver-gray in appearance. The process of reductive smelting produces free cobalt. China is known to be the largest producer of cobalt. ![]() These ores have to undergo complex processing to concentrate and extract cobalt. However, still cobalt is majorly extracted as a by-product of the mining of iron, copper, nickel, zinc, silver, manganese, etc. However, this use was later banned due to the high heart failure risk.Ĭobalt is extracted from minerals such as cobaltite, skutterudite, linnaeite, heterogenite, smaltite, and erythrite. ![]() In the mid-20 th century, cobalt was also used as a beer additive by some breweries as this helped maintain the foamy head. However, for a long time, credit was given to bismuth. Ancient Chinese, European, and Egyptian civilizations are known to use cobalt for making blue dyes for jewelry and paints. This is where the name “Cobalt” was derived from.Ĭobalt is also found in soil and crusts on the seafloor. Interestingly, before it was discovered cobalt became a bane for miners as the vapors that emitted during the mining of nickel and copper caused illness and death of several miners.Īs there was no clear reason known for this, Germans blamed this on the ancient evil spirits or mythical goblins known as ‘kobolds’. It does not occur in nature in a free state but, in combination with other elements.įor long it was considered the by-product of the mining operations of nickel and copper. Yes, we are talking about “Cobalt”.Ĭobalt was officially discovered by Georg Brandt, a Swedish chemist in 1739. ![]() It forms part of essential nutrients in your body and can also be used to improve food safety.Įnough of the riddles, I hope you already know the answer. This metal has been used as the blue dye since ancient times and is also used in the treatment of cancer. Can you name a metal that was named after mythical Goblins?
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