ZIRCONIUM

Zirconium has five stable isotopes 90 Zr 91 Zr 92 Zr 94 Zr 96 Zr, of which a few are used for the
production of radioisotopes. Although radioactive Zr-95 is a fission product, it can also produce
by neutron irradiation of Zr-94. Zr-96 has been used for the production of the radioisotope Zr-97.
Zr-90 can be used for the production of the PET isotope Nb-90. Finally, Zr-90 has been proposed
for cladding in nuclear fuel. The use of Zr-90 would lower even further the already low neutron
absorption cross section of natural Zr that is currently used as fuel cladding.

USES

Zirconium does not absorb neutrons, making it an ideal material for use in nuclear power stations.
More than 90% of zirconium is used in this way. Nuclear reactors can have more than 100,000
meters of zirconium alloy tubing. With niobium, zirconium is superconductive at low
temperatures and is used to make superconducting magnets.

Zirconium metal is protected by a thin oxide layer making it exceptionally resistant to corrosion
by acids, alkalis and seawater. For this reason it is extensively used by the chemical industry.

Zirconium (IV) oxide is used in ultra-strong ceramics. It is used to make crucibles that will
withstand heat-shock, furnace linings, foundry bricks, abrasives and by the glass and ceramics
industries. It is so strong that even scissors and knives can be made from it. It is also used in
cosmetics, antiperspirants, food packaging and to make microwave filters.

Zircon is a natural semi-precious gemstone found in a variety of colors. The most desirable have a
golden hue. The element was first discovered in this form, resulting in its name. Cubic zirconia
(zirconium oxide) is a synthetic gemstone. The colorless stones, when cut, resemble diamonds.

Zircon mixed with vanadium or praseodymium makes blue and yellow pigments for glazing
pottery.

Zirconium is a silver-gray transition metal, a type of element that is malleable and ductile and
easily forms stable compounds. It is also highly resistant to corrosion. Zirconium and its alloys
have been used for centuries in a wide variety of ways.

It is commonly used in corrosive environments. Zirconium alloys can be found in pipes, fittings
and heat exchangers, according to Chemicool. Zirconium is also used in steel alloys, colored
glazes, bricks, ceramics, abrasives, flashbulbs, lamp filaments, artificial gemstones and some
deodorants, according to Minerals Education Coalition.
Other uses for zirconium include catalytic converters, furnace bricks, lab crucibles, surgical
instruments, television glass, removing residual gases from vacuum tubes, and as a hardening
agent in alloys such as steel, according to Lenntech. Also, zirconium carbonate is used to treat
poison ivy, according to the Jefferson Laboratory.

Zirconium has been found in S-type stars, the sun, meteorites and in lunar rocks, according to
the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Lunar rocks appear to have a surprisingly high zircon
content compared to terrestrial rocks, according to analysis of lunar rock samples from the
various Apollo missions.
On Earth, sources for zirconium are primarily the minerals zircon and baddeleyite (zirconium
dioxide), which are mined in the United States, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, and Sri
Lanka, according to Minerals Education Coalition. Zirconium's natural abundance in Earth's crust
is 165 parts per million by weight, according to Chemicool.
 Number of natural isotopes (atoms of the same element with a different
number of neutrons): 5. There are also 20 artificial isotopes created in a
lab.
Most common isotopes: Zr-90 (51.5 percent of natural abundance), Zr-94
(17.38 percent of natural abundance), Zr-92 (17.15 percent of natural
abundance), Zr-91 (11.2 percent of natural abundance), Zr-96 (2.8 percent
of natural abundance)

References:

Trace Sciences International. (2018). Zirconium Isotopes. Retrieved from

http://www.tracesciences.com/zr.htm

John Emsley. (2011). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements, Oxford University
Press, New York, 2nd Edition, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.rsc.org/periodic-
table/element/40/zirconium

Rachel Ross (2017).Facts about Zirconium. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/34610-

zirconium.html
Lead Isotopes
Isotopes With A Known Natural Abundance
Mass Number Natural Abundance Half-life
204 1.4% >= 1.4×10+17 years

206 24.1% STABLE

207 22.1% STABLE

208 52.4% STABLE

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Some pages, such as those within the Questions and Answers Question Archive, have specific
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Lead isotopes are used for medical and scientific purposes. Pb-206 and Pb-207 can both be used
to produce the medical radioisotopes Bi-205 and Bi-206. Pb-204, Pb-206 and Pb-207 are used to
measure lead levels in blood. Pb-208 has been used to produce neutron-rich isotopes of W and
Lu. Pb-208 has also been used to study the configuration of neutron stars. Several Lead isotopes
have also been used as target in the production of super heavy elements.

Naturally occurring isotopes

204
Pb 206 Pb 207 Pb 208 Pb
WebElements: THE periodic table on the WWW [www.webelements.com]
Copyright 1993-2018 Mark Winter [ The University of Sheffield and WebElements Ltd, UK]. All
rights reserved.
You can reference the WebElements periodic table as follows:
"WebElements, https://www.webelements.com, accessed December 2018."
https://www.webelements.com/lead/isotopes.html

References
Naturally occurring isotope abundances: Commission on Atomic Weights and Isotopic
Abundances report for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in Isotopic
Compositions of the Elements 1989, Pure and Applied Chemistry, 1998, 70, 217. [Copyright 1998
IUPAC]
For further information about radioisotopes see Jonghwa Chang's (Korea Atomic Energy
Research Institute) Table of the Nuclides
Masses, nuclear spins, and magnetic moments: I. Mills, T. Cvitas, K. Homann, N. Kallay, and K.
Kuchitsu in Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, Blackwell Scientific
Publications, Oxford, UK, 1988. [Copyright 1988 IUPAC]
uses
This easily worked and corrosion-resistant metal has been used for pipes, pewter and paint since
Roman times. It has also been used in lead glazes for pottery and, in this century, insecticides,
hair dyes and as an anti-knocking additive for petrol. All these uses have now been banned,
replaced or discouraged as lead is known to be detrimental to health, particularly that of children.

Lead is still widely used for car batteries, pigments, ammunition, cable sheathing, weights for
lifting, weight belts for diving, lead crystal glass, radiation protection and in some solders.

It is often used to store corrosive liquids. It is also sometimes used in architecture, for roofing and
in stained glass windows.

Uses and properties

John Emsley, Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements, Oxford University Press,
New York, 2nd Edition, 2011.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility - Office of Science Education, It’s Elemental -
The Periodic Table of Elements, accessed December 2014.
Periodic Table of Videos, accessed December 2014.
© Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
Registered charity number: 207890
http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/82/lead