DOE/LANL Jurisdiction Fire Danger Rating:

Zirconium

91.22

Zirconium

Element Stats

Select a temperature unit to update boiling and melting point values.

Physical

Physical Properties
Property	Value	Property	Value
Appearance	Hard, silvery metal
Classification	Transition Metals	Density	6.505 g/cm³ at STP
Boiling Point	4650 K	Melting Point	2125 K

Atomic

Atomic Properties
Property	Value	Property	Value
Atomic Number	40	Atomic Mass	91.2242
Van Der Waals Radius	186	Atomic Radius (empirical)	160

Electronic & Chemical

Electronic and Chemical Properties
Property	Value	Property	Value
Electronegativity	1.33	Electron Affinity	41.806 kJ/mol
Electron Configuration	1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d²
Oxidation States	4, 3, 2, 1, -2
Ionization Energies	Showing 5 of 6 ionization energies. 640.1 kJ/mol 1270 kJ/mol 2218 kJ/mol 3313 kJ/mol 7752 kJ/mol

History

The mineral zircon, coming from the Persian word zargun (meaning "gold-like"), has been around for ages—even getting shout-outs in the Bible under various aliases, like hyacinth, jacinth, and ligure. But it wasn't until 1789 that a German scientist, Martin Klaproth, realized the rock contained a brand-new element. He called it zirconia, and the race to isolate the metal was on!

A few folks tried and failed, including Sir Humphry Davy in 1808, but it wasn't until 1824 that Jöns Berzelius cracked the code. Using a mix of potassium and zirconium fluoride, he finally isolated zirconium metal. This new metal was in an impure form, though.

Fast forward to 1925, when the crystal bar process was invented by Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer, enabling commercial refinement of the metal. This method stuck around until 1945 when William Kroll came up with a better, cheaper solution: the Kroll process. Then, zirconium really “took off”—right into space! It was the perfect element to use in space shuttles and other high-stress applications.

Properties

Zirconium has a very high boiling point, making it perfect for high-heat applications. It’s also shiny and has a silver-white color, which is why it’s sometimes used to make wedding rings and other jewelry! Move over, gold!

Uses

Zirconium is very important for nuclear energy. Because it is so strong and resistant to corrosion, zirconium is used to form the cladding (a protective skin) on the fuel rods that act as a power source in nuclear reactors.

Because it’s such a tough element, zirconium compounds are also used in ceramics, jet engines, lamp filaments, and even space shuttle parts!

Zirconium and titanium are similar, and because of that, they’re competitive: titanium has been used for a long time in dental implants, but zirconium is looking like a better choice. Zirconium is more resistant to corrosion and less likely to cause a bad reaction in the body.

Forms

Zirconium can occur in powder and metal forms, both of which have commercial uses.

Sources

The main ores found in zirconium are zircon (ZrSiO₄), which is mined in the United States, Australia, and Sri Lanka; and baddeleyite (zirconium oxide, ZrO₂), which is mined in Brazil. Major producers of zirconium include Australia, China, Indonesia, South Africa, and Ukraine.

Fun Facts

Almost as old as the Earth itself

Zirconium comes from the mineral zircon, the oldest mineral on Earth! It dates back more than 4.4 billion years.

Beyond Earth

Scientists think there is some amount of zirconium in the sun. NASA has found zirconium in some moon rocks, and there is likely zirconium in meteorites floating around our solar system.

Soviet space bling

Cubic zirconium was originally developed to support the Soviet-era space program, but in the 1970s the diamond-like gem was first used for jewelry. Now, it’s one of the most common choices as an ethical and cheaper alternative to diamonds.

DOE/LANL Jurisdiction Fire Danger Rating:

Zirconium

91.22

Zirconium

Element Stats

Select a temperature unit to update boiling and melting point values.

Physical

Physical Properties
Property	Value	Property	Value
Appearance	Hard, silvery metal
Classification	Transition Metals	Density	6.505 g/cm³ at STP
Boiling Point	4650 K	Melting Point	2125 K

Atomic

Atomic Properties
Property	Value	Property	Value
Atomic Number	40	Atomic Mass	91.2242
Van Der Waals Radius	186	Atomic Radius (empirical)	160

Electronic & Chemical

Electronic and Chemical Properties
Property	Value	Property	Value
Electronegativity	1.33	Electron Affinity	41.806 kJ/mol
Electron Configuration	1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d¹⁰ 4p⁶ 5s² 4d²
Oxidation States	4, 3, 2, 1, -2
Ionization Energies	Showing 5 of 6 ionization energies. 640.1 kJ/mol 1270 kJ/mol 2218 kJ/mol 3313 kJ/mol 7752 kJ/mol

History

Properties

Uses

Because it’s such a tough element, zirconium compounds are also used in ceramics, jet engines, lamp filaments, and even space shuttle parts!

Forms

Zirconium can occur in powder and metal forms, both of which have commercial uses.

Sources

Fun Facts

Almost as old as the Earth itself

Zirconium comes from the mineral zircon, the oldest mineral on Earth! It dates back more than 4.4 billion years.

Beyond Earth

Scientists think there is some amount of zirconium in the sun. NASA has found zirconium in some moon rocks, and there is likely zirconium in meteorites floating around our solar system.