Vanadium is widely used as an addition to steel, improving the performance of tools and other demanding components. Vanadium compounds have separate roles, including catalysts and pigments. Its occurrence in several minerals and some crude oils connects metal production to a range of geological sources.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
How does vanadium contribute to a steel tool without becoming the whole tool?
Vanadium-containing steel alloys
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Build an iron-based material
Tool steel combines iron and carbon with selected alloying additions; the component must resist the mechanical demands imposed by its intended work.
Explore the model (optional)
VFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D23 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[Ar] 3d3 4s2. Grouping electrons by principal shell connects the neutral-atom configuration to periodic-table patterns.
What this representation means
A three-dimensional counting diagram. Dots are count markers, not measured electron positions; spherical placement and spacing are arbitrary. There are no electron trajectories here. Orbitals describe quantum states.
Del Río encountered vanadium in a Mexican in 1801, but an incorrect identification as chromium led him to withdraw his claim. Sefström later established the element independently in Sweden. Recognition depended on interpreting evidence as well as collecting it: the unfamiliar constituent existed even when comparisons with known materials led investigators to a mistaken conclusion.
1801
Initial discovery reported
Del Río’s mineral finding was mistakenly attributed to chromium.
1831
Independent recognition
Sefström established vanadium through investigations associated with iron production.
Vanadium occurs in minerals including vanadinite, carnotite, and patronite, and also accompanies certain iron and phosphate rocks. Some crude oils contain vanadium in organic complexes. This variety places the element in both mineral and carbon-containing environments, so recovery methods depend strongly on the source material.
Pure vanadium is a silvery metal that can be and shows useful resistance in some environments. It nevertheless oxidizes when sufficiently heated. These properties are conditional rather than absolute: temperature, surrounding chemicals, and purity influence behavior, while vanadium compounds can perform functions very different from those of the metal.
Each section links its supporting references. Descriptions and diagrams were authored for this atlas. Source checks completed. Source checks dated 2026-09-06.
CITE THIS PAGE
Family labels and the group-3 layout are teaching conventions. A table position does not establish an unknown bulk property. Electronic configurations refer to neutral atoms; ions and material environments require their own account.
Read each reference property together with its units, conditions and the reference information below.
Not yet recorded: electron affinity, second ionization energy, ground-state term symbol, van der waals radius, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, electrical resistivity, crystal structure, lattice parameter a, space group, abundance in seawater, abundance in the universe, annual production, supply-risk listing, hazard classification, biological role, cas registry number, pubchem cid, wikidata item. These families are declared and awaiting an ingestion run against the source each names; they are listed here rather than shown as empty rows.
Physical
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Phase at 20 °C
solid
293.15 K, 101.325 kPa
Melting point in K
2183 K
at standard pressure unless noted
Boiling point in K
3680 K
101.325 kPa
Density in g/cm³
6.11 g/cm³
solids and liquids at 293 K; gases at 273 K and 101.325 kPa
Atomic and electronic
Intended reference: Pauling electronegativity scale · Widely tabulated; original in The Nature of the Chemical Bond
Electronegativity in Pauling
1.63 Pauling
Pauling scale
First ionization energy in kJ/mol
650.9 kJ/mol
gas-phase neutral atom, ground state
Covalent radius in pm
153 pm
single-bond covalent radius
Common oxidation states
+2, +3, +4, +5
states met in ordinary compounds; not exhaustive
Occurrence and identity
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Abundance in the crust in mg/kg
120 mg/kg
upper continental crust, mass fraction
Has stable isotopes
Yesderived
Discovery year in CE
1801 CEderived
WHERE IT SITS AMONG ITS NEIGHBORS
Electronegativity across period 4
V 1.63 Pauling · Vanadium
Electronegativity across period 4. Exact values.
K
0.82
Ca
1
Sc
1.36
Ti
1.54
V
1.63
Cr
1.66
Mn
1.55
Fe
1.83
Co
1.88
Ni
1.91
Cu
1.9
Zn
1.65
Ga
1.81
Ge
2.01
As
2.18
Se
2.55
Br
2.96
Kr
3
Electronegativity down group 5
V 1.63 Pauling · Vanadium
Electronegativity down group 5. Exact values.
V
1.63
Nb
1.6
Ta
1.5
The trend uses the same reference-property values as the periodic table. Elements with no recorded value are left out of the line rather than drawn at zero.
