1. NIOBIUM (NB)
Don Willmoth
Chemistry 120
Fall 2011

2. NIOBIUM
Google Images

3. Discovery
First announced in 1801 by English chemist Charles
Hatchett, he suggested the name Columbium after the
mineral in which it is found Columbite.
Until 1844 was thought to be the same element as
Tantalum.
In 1844 German chemist Heinrich Rose rediscovers
Columbium by producing two new acids from Columbite
and Tantalite.
Rose proposes the name Columbite-Niobium after Niobe
the Greek goddess of tears, daughter of Tantalus from
whom the name Tantalum comes from.
It is not until 1866 the Jean Charles Galissard De Marignac
proves that Niobium and Tantalum are in fact two
separate elements.

4. Acceptance
Marignac also indicates Columbium and Niobium are the
same element.
It is not until 1949 the International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopts Niobium as the name
for the element.
Today many metallurgist continue to use the name
Columbium for the element.
In its raw form it is mined alongside Tantalum.

5. Properties
Niobium is a shiny grey metal
Solid at room temperature
Melting Point 2468° C
Boiling Point 4927° C
Density 8.57 g/cm3
Period 5, Group 5 on the periodic table

6. Properties
Heat of Fusion 30 KJ/mol-1
Heat of Vaporization 689.9
KJ/mol-1
Electronegativity 1.6
Crystal Structure, Cubic
Body-Center
Mohs Hardness 6.0
One naturally occurring
isotope and 18 known.

7. Occurrence and Cost
Abundance in the earths crust at 17 parts per million
by weight or 3.7 parts per million by moles.
In the solar system it occurs at 4 parts per million by
weight or 50 parts per trillion by moles.
Niobium is not traded on any exchange so pricing is
negotiated per trade, with current pricing at
approximately $45.00 per Kg.

8. Pyrochlore
Pyrochlore is the primary mineral from which
niobium is obtained.
The largest deposits are located in Brazil and Quebec
Canada
Estimated reserves totaling 460 million tons are
enough to meet current demands for about 500
years.
Niobium is also found in very small quantities in the
slag produced while smelting some tin ores.

9. Coltan
An abbreviation used only in
Africa for the “columbo-
tantalite” mineral, containing
both Columbium (niobium)
and Tantalum.
There is controversy over
the mining of Coltan in
Africa, the UN reports it has
been used to finance war in
Rwanda and the Democratic
Republic of Congo, much like
“blood diamonds”, of the
1990’s and 2000’s.

10. Common Uses
Niobium is used in the manufacture of Stainless Steel
and other non ferrous metals, to enhance their
strength.
It is widely used in metals devoted to pipeline usage.
It has a low capture cross-section for thermal
neutrons making it optimal for use in the nuclear
industries.
Niobium is used extensively by NASA as a
superconducting resilient material.

11. Superconductor
Magnets
When mixed with aluminum, tin and titanium these
alloys are formed into superconducting magnets,
creating some of the strongest electromagnets in
the world.
These magnets are often used in Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance machines.

12. Jet Engines
Both Niobium and Tantalum
are used in the manufacture
of turbine blades, for use in
jet engines.

13. Eyeglasses
Adding Niobium to optical
glass provides a higher rate
of refraction, allowing for a
thinner, lighter corrective
lens lens.
It is also being used in
camera lenses and copy
machines.

14. NASA used Niobium to help prove Einstein's Theory of Relativity
correct. In 2004 NASA launches the Gravity Probe-B with 4 fused
quartz gyroscopes, coated with Niobium, they were the most
spherical spheres ever made.

15. Niobium Coins
Niobium is used by mints
throughout the world in the
manufacture of proof coins.
Its ability to accept
anodizing in a wide range of
colors makes it attractive to
mints producing bi-metal
coins.

16. Jewelry
Niobium being
hypoallergenic is used
throughout the jewelry
industry. With its
availability in a large range
of colors Niobium has
become a favorite for use in
body piercing jewelry.

17. Conclusion
Niobium may not be a household name, but its uses
are seen everyday from its addition to steel for
strengthening to the jewelry worn in a piercing. It is
the unseen uses in the Space industry, along with the
medical and scientific fields as a superconductor that
Niobium is a truly unique element.

18. References
Google images
minerals.usgs.gov
Webelements.com/niobium
Jefferson Lab
Cengage.com
Rolls-Royce
Wise geek
Techie-buzz
Austrian mint