1. News

Hafnium is a shiny silver-gray tetravalent transition metal

If you are looking for high-quality products, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email: brad@ihpa.net



Overview of Hafnium Hafnium, whose symbol is Hf is a chemical with an atomic weight of 72. Hafnium occurs in zirconium minerals and is a silver-gray tetravalent tetravalent. Dmitri Menedeleev predicted it’s existence in 1869. But it wasn’t discovered until 1923 by Coster and Hevesy, making it one of the last stable elements to be discovered.

There are six natural stable isotopes in hafnium, which include hafnium 180, 179, 178 and 176. Hafnium doesn’t react with dilute sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, nor does it interact with strong alkaline or dilute hydrochloric solutions. It is, however, soluble in aqua regia, hydrofluoric and dilute hydrochloric acids. This element’s name comes from Copenhagen in Latin. Hafnium’s content in the crust of the earth is 0.00045%. In nature, it is usually associated with zirconium.
Hafnium filaments and electrodes are used. Integrated circuits with characteristic lengths less than 45 nanometers are used in some semiconductor manufacturing. Some special-purpose superalloys contain hafnium, niobium, titanium or tungsten.

Hafnium is a material that can absorb neutrons well in the control rods used in nuclear power stations. But it also needs to be removed because it is corrosive-resistant and transparent.
What are hafnium’s Characteristics?
Hafnium has corrosion-resistant properties, is shiny and silver, malleable, and similar in chemical properties to zirconium. It also has a relativeistic effect, with the expected atomic diameter going from the fifth to first. The contraction of lanthanides nearly completely offset the expansion phase 6. Hafnium is a shiny silver malleable metal, corrosion-resistant, and has chemical properties similar to zirconium (because it shares the same number of valence electrons, but also because of its relativistic effect; the expansion of phase 6 was almost completely offset by the contraction of lanthanides).

Chemically, hafnium is very similar to zirconium. They cannot be differentiated because they undergo different reactions. Chemically, the two elements are very similar. The main differences between them are their melting point, boiling point, and solubility.

Hafnium makes up 5.8 parts per million of the Earth’s crust. It is not found as a pure element on Earth, but rather is solid-dissolved together with zirconium to form natural zirconium compound, such as ZrSiO4. Usually, around 1-4% of zirconium are replaced by Hafnium.

Carbonate intrusions and especially coronal polymetallic deposits at Mount Wilde in Western Australia are the main sources of zircon and hafnium ore. Hafnium can be found in rough tuff that contains zircon-hafnium ore, aluminum transparent or Armstrong ore, which is located in the Dubbo region of New South Wales.

Hafnium reserves could be maintained less than 10 year if demand and population increase. Due to the coexistence between hafnium & zirconium in nature, hafnium may be extracted as a zirconium by-product under low demand.

Is hafnium considered a rare earth?
Hafnium, which is rare in nature, can be found at up to 5% concentration in most zirconium mineral. Hafnium is 45th on the list of most abundant elements. According to a Chemical Kuhl study, hafnium occupies approximately 3.3 parts for every million of earth’s surface.

Is hafnium poisonous?
Hafnium does not contain any toxic substances. Hafnium is insoluble in any liquid, including water and salt solutions. Hafnium is absorbed through the lungs, skin, or eye contact. Hafnium, and its compounds can cause minor irritations of the mucous membranes, skin or eyes.

What are the uses of hafnium?
Hafnium works well as a neutron-absorbing material in control rods for nuclear reactors. Hafnium also serves as a vacuum tube getter. This material removes and combines gas from the vacuum tube. Hafnium alloys with iron, titanium, Niobium, and other metals.
Hafnium can be spun into threads. It is a lustrous silver metal, which is resistant to corrosion. Hafnium, a good neutron-absorbing metal, is used in the manufacture of control rods on nuclear submarines. Hafnium has a very high melting temperature, which is why it’s used to make plasma torches.
The hafnium-isotopes are used to determine the origins of Roman glass.
Glass is an archaeologically interesting material. Although its fragility and beauty is attractive, geochemical analysis of invisible tracers reveals more than the surface. Rome has a very large glass industry, which produces drinking glasses, catering products, stained glass stones for wall mosaics, and window glass. The production of transparent, colorless glass that is ideal for high-quality drinkers is one of the industry’s most outstanding achievements. It is however known that there was a significant amount of Roman colored glass made in Palestine. Archaeologists found a glass-making furnace. Egypt has never been home to a furnace of this type. From a scientific standpoint, it has been difficult to differentiate the glass produced in these two areas.

Aarhus University and UrbNet Assistant Professor Gry Barfod, in collaboration with AGiR at Aarhus University, have now found a way to solve the problem. The Danish-Germany Jerash Northwest Project’s research on Roman Glass in Jordan revealed that the isotopes of the rare metal hafnium were able to be used as a way to distinguish Egyptian from Palestinian glass.

Gry barfod said, “The hafnium-isotopes have been proven geologically to be important tracers in sedimentary deposits. So I hope this system can leave fingerprints” on the glass sand. Charles Lescher is a professor from Aarhus University and co-author. He said that the measurement results confirm this expectation, proving the connection between archaeology, geology, and history.

Hafnium has never been used to investigate ancient materials made by man, such as glass and ceramics. Professor Ian from University College London commented, “These exciting results clearly demonstrate the potential of hafnium to explain the origin of early material.” I predict they will become an important scientific tool for our study on ancient economies. component.”

Sand from the Nile River is found on the Mediterranean coasts of Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. This sand has a high amount of calcium, which helps to keep the glass stable. In the Levant they produced clear glass by adding Manganese. This is good, but it’s not perfect. Scientists now show that the second type Roman glass they have discovered comes from Egypt. Antimony (Sb) was added to make the glass transparent. It is therefore the most valuable of all glass.

(aka. Technology Co. Ltd., a reputable global chemical supplier and manufacturer with more than 12 years of experience in providing high-quality Nanomaterials and chemicals. Currently, we have developed a number of materials. Hafnium is a high-purity powder with a fine particle size. It also contains low impurities. Click the desired products or send us an e-mail. Sending an inquiry .