Nickel

As the fifth-most common element on Earth, it comes as no surprise that nickel made its way into human civilizations early on. In fact, although the element wasn’t scientifically discovered until 1751, nickel has been found in 2,000-year-old bronze alloys. It also gained attention in the 15th century, when miners in Germany thought the silvery-white metal with a golden tinge contained copper—earning it the nickname devil’s copper or Kupfernickel. When Swedish chemist Axel Cronstedt isolated an element from the Kupfernickel mineral in the mid-18th century, he drew from its history and called the element nickel.

In the 19th century, “nickel silver” was common in plating assorted goods. The lustrous metal was combined with copper and zinc to give the appearance of silver, without containing any actual silver. The United States began using nickel mixed, or alloyed, with copper for coins in 1857. In 1866, the five-cent shield nickel, composed of 25% nickel and 75% copper, became the country’s standard 5-cent piece.

Today, we know that nickel is found everywhere—from the Earth’s core to the meteors entering our atmosphere, and throughout the earth’s crust. It is still used for plating and in coins, but the most common usage is in stainless steel and, increasingly, in the rechargeable batteries of electric vehicles.

Nickel is a silvery metal that is twice as abundant as copper and resistant to corrosion, even at high temperatures. It is often used as a plate to protect other metals from corrosion. It is hard, malleable, ductile and somewhat magnetic. It conducts heat and electricity.

Nickel is extensively used for making stainless steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys. Tubing made of copper-nickel alloy is used in desalination plants for converting sea water into fresh water. It is used extensively to make coins and nickel steel for armor plates and burglar-proof vaults.

Nickel gives glass a greenish color. Nickel plating is often used to provide a protective coating for other metals, and finely divided nickel is a catalyst for hydrogenating vegetable oils. It is also used in ceramics and in the manufacturing of some types of magnets and batteries.

Compounds of nickel have several commercial and industrial applications. Nickel chloride, nickel nitrate, and nickel sulfamate are used in electroplating baths. Nickel sulfate is used in electroplating catalysts, ground-coat enamels, and fixatives for dyeing and textile printing. Other compounds are found in fuel cells and storage batteries or used in the cores of electrical equipment.

There are five naturally occurring, stable isotopes of nickel. At least 34 other isotopes are known.

A considerable amount of nickel came to Earth from outer space—arriving as meteors landed across the globe. Ontario, for example, is responsible for about 15% of the worlds production of nickel thanks to meteoric nickel dating back millions of years. Nickel can also be extracted from terrestrial minerals such as pentlandite and garnierite.