It is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a lustrous silvery white metal with hints of gold in its silvery white color. Nickel is a transition metal, hard and ductile. The chemical activity of pure nickel is quite high, and this activity can be seen in the powder state where the reactive surface area is maximized, but the bulk nickel metal reacts slowly with the surrounding air because a layer of protective oxide has formed on the surface. things. Even so, due to the high enough activity between nickel and oxygen, it is still difficult to find natural metallic nickel on the surface of the earth. The natural nickel on the earth’s surface is enclosed in larger nickel-iron meteorites, because meteorites do not have access to oxygen when they are in space. On Earth, this natural nickel is always combined with iron, reflecting that they are the main end products of supernova nucleosynthesis. It is generally believed that the earth’s core is composed of nickel-iron mixture.
The use of nickel (a natural nickel-iron alloy) dates back as far as 3500 BC. Axel Frederick Kronstedt was the first to isolate nickel and define it as a chemical element in 1751, although he initially mistook the nickel ore for a mineral of copper. The foreign name of nickel comes from the naughty goblin of the same name in the legend of German miners (Nickel, which is similar to the nickname “Old Nick” for the devil in English). . The most economical source of nickel is iron ore limonite, which generally contains 1-2% nickel. Other important minerals for nickel include pentlandite and pentlandite. Major producers of nickel include the Soderbury region in Canada (which is generally believed to be a meteorite impact crater), New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean, and Norilsk in Russia.
Because nickel oxidizes slowly at room temperature, it is generally considered to be corrosion resistant. Because of this, nickel has historically been used to plate a variety of surfaces, such as metals (such as iron and brass), the interior of chemical devices, and certain alloys that need to maintain a shiny silver finish (such as nickel silver). About 6% of the world’s nickel production is still used for corrosion-resistant pure nickel plating. Nickel was once a common component of coins, but this has largely been replaced by cheaper iron, not least because some people have skin allergies to nickel. Despite this, Britain began minting coins in nickel again in 2012, over the objections of dermatologists.
Nickel is one of only four elements that are ferromagnetic at room temperature. Nickel-containing alnico permanent magnets have a magnetic strength between that of iron-containing permanent magnets and rare earth magnets. Nickel’s status in the modern world is largely due to its various alloys. About 60% of the world’s nickel production is used to produce various nickel steels (especially stainless steel). Other common alloys, as well as some new superalloys, account for nearly all of the remaining world nickel use. Chemical uses to make compounds account for less than 3 percent of nickel production. As a compound, nickel has several specific uses in chemical manufacturing, for example as a catalyst for hydrogenation reactions. The enzymes of certain microorganisms and plants use nickel as the active site, so nickel is an important nutrient for them. [1]