Periodic Table/Niobium
← ZrMo →
41Nb92.9064 Da

Niobium

Transition Metal·Period 5, Group 5·s-block

Soft, ductile grey-blue metallic transition element. Used in special steels and in welded joints to increase strength. Combines with halogens and oxidizes in air at 200 degrees celsius. Discovered by Charles Hatchett in 1801 and isolated by Blomstrand in 1864. Called Columbium originally.

Gallery

Niobium strips

Mauro Cateb, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Bohr model of Niobium

Physical Propertiesmass · density · phase · crystal

Atomic Mass

92.9064Da

Density

8.5700g/cm³

Phase (STP)

Solid

Melting Point

2750.2K

Boiling Point

5014.1K

Molar Heat

0.2650J/(mol·K)

Crystal Structure

BCC

Lattice Constant

3.300Å

Atomic Radiiatomic · covalent · van der Waals

Atomic (Empirical)

145.00pm

Covalent

147.00pm

Van der Waals

218.00pm

Electronic Propertieselectronegativity · ionization · affinity

Electron Configuration

[Kr] 4d4 5s

Electron Shells

2, 8, 18, 12, 1

Electronegativity

1.60Pauling

Electron Affinity

0.9kJ/mol

1st Ionization Energy

6.8kJ/mol

Oxidation States

-3, -1, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5

Orbital DiagramAufbau · Hund's rule · Pauli exclusion

↑↓
1s2
↑↓
2s2
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
2p6
↑↓
3s2
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
3p6
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
3d10
↑↓
4s2
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
4p6
↑
↑
↑
↑
4d4
↑
5s1

Full: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d4 5s1Short: [Kr] 4d4 5s

Ionization Energies (41 known)

1st6.8 kJ/mol2nd14.3 kJ/mol3rd25.0 kJ/mol4th37.6 kJ/mol5th50.6 kJ/mol6th102.1 kJ/mol7th119.1 kJ/mol8th136.0 kJ/mol9th159.2 kJ/mol10th180.0 kJ/mol11th200.3 kJ/mol12th246.1 kJ/mol13th268.6 kJ/mol14th482.5 kJ/mol15th530.0 kJ/mol16th581.0 kJ/mol17th636.0 kJ/mol18th688.0 kJ/mol19th758.0 kJ/mol20th816.0 kJ/mol21th877.0 kJ/mol22th940.0 kJ/mol23th1000.0 kJ/mol24th1176.0 kJ/mol25th1230.6 kJ/mol26th1293.7 kJ/mol27th1368.0 kJ/mol28th1439.0 kJ/mol29th1488.0 kJ/mol30th1625.9 kJ/mol31th1685.0 kJ/mol32th4020.1 kJ/mol33th4187.0 kJ/mol34th4369.0 kJ/mol35th4540.0 kJ/mol36th4815.0 kJ/mol37th5011.0 kJ/mol38th5265.0 kJ/mol39th5426.1 kJ/mol40th22648.0 kJ/mol41th23388.8 kJ/molSuccessive Ionization Energies

Emission Spectrumvisible range · characteristic spectral lines

406
410
416
Nb emission
380nm750nm
405.9 nm(100%)410.1 nm(70%)416.4 nm(50%)

Abundanceby mass

🌍Earth's Crust
20.0 ppm
🌊Ocean
10.0 ppt
✨Universe
2.0 ppb
🧬Human Body—

Log scale · ppm = parts per million by mass

Biological Role

No biological role

No known biological role.

Discovery

Discovered By

Charles Hatchet

Named By

—

Year

1801

Nuclear Data

Known Isotopes

38

Stable Isotopes

4

Stable Mass Numbers

79, 80, 81, 93

Natural isotopic abundance (IUPAC recommended values)

Isotopes of Nb38 known

NuclideZNMass (AMU)Half-lifeDecayJπAbundance
79Nbstable413878.966022Stablep, β⁺, β⁺p9/2+—
80Nbstable413979.958754Stablep, β⁺, β⁺p4-—
81Nbstable414080.950230Stablep, β⁺, β⁺p9/2+—
93Nbstable415292.906373Stablestable (1%)9/2+10000.0000%
114Nb4173113.96246917.0 msβ⁻ (1%), β⁻n, 2n2-—
115Nb4174114.96684923.0 msβ⁻ (1%), β⁻n, 2n3/2-—
116Nb4175115.972914Unknownβ⁻, β⁻n, 2n1-—

Click any isotope for its full page with decay chain:

79Nb80Nb81Nb82Nb83Nb84Nb85Nb86Nb87Nb88Nb89Nb90Nb91Nb92Nb93Nb94Nb95Nb96Nb97Nb98Nb99Nb100Nb101Nb102Nb103Nb104Nb105Nb106Nb107Nb108Nb109Nb110Nb111Nb112Nb113Nb114Nb115Nb116Nb
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