ChemistryTransition Metal Iron

Group Member 5E

Chan Ming Hung 26

Lam Man Chung 29

Lau Yuk To 32

Wong Ka Chun 42

Content Background Information

Properties

Extraction

Raw material for Painting

Industrial use

Biological use

Background Information Name: Iron

Symbol: Fe (from Latin: Ferrum)

Atomic number: 26

Element category: transition metal

Relative atomic mass: 55.845

Electrons per shell: 2, 8, 14, 2

Background Information Oxidation states: +2 to + 6 (+2 and +3 are the

most common)

Density (near r.t.): 7.874 g·cm−3

Melting point: 1811K, 1538°C, 2800°F

Boiling point: 3134K, 2862°C, 5182°F

Heat of fusion: 13.81 kJ·mol−1

Heat of vaporization: 340 kJ·mol−1

Properties Silver-white or gray metal

Malleable and ductile

Non-toxic

Good conductor of heat, like most metals

Good conductor of electricity, like most metals

Dissolves readily in dilute acids

Reactive to oxygen and water to form oxide

Easily magnetized

Hard, brittle, fairly fusible

Extraction Extracted from its ore, haematite

Fed into the top of the furnace along with coke and limestone

Main reducing agent is carbon monoxide

hematite+carbon monoxide → Iron+carbon dioxide

Fe2O3 + 3CO → 2Fe+ 3CO2

Inside of Blast Furnace

Industrial Use Ferroalloy* Pig iron**(approximately 1.7–4.5% carbon content):

Generally brittleThe cost relatively lowerNo ductility and malleability but hardUsually used in making lathe bed of machine tools and the cylinder of steam engine and internal combustion engine.

Wrought iron(approximately below 0.1% carbon content):High purity(high iron content)Ductile 、 malleable 、 tough 、 easily weldedA raw material for manufacturing of steel

*Alloys of iron with a high proportion of one or more other element and mostly Carbon**the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel

Industrial Use-Carbon Steel* Extensively used in manufacturing different kinds of machine

components (e.g. gear wheel, screw nut, rail steel bar, etc.) Low carbon steel(approximately 0.1–2.5% carbon content):

Property similar to Wrought ironA raw material for manufacturing steel wire 、 rivet 、 galvanized iron sheet and tinplate

Medium carbon steel(approximately 0.25–0.6% carbon content):Ductility 、 malleability and hardness between low carbon steel and high carbon steelA raw material for construction

High-carbon steel(approximately 0.6–1.35% carbon content):High weld ability

The higher proportion of the Carbon in Carbon steel is, the harder and less ductile and malleable it is.*Steel where the main interstitial alloying constituent is carbon

Raw material for Painting Iron(III) oxide:Venetian red or Brown pigment

Iron(II) sulphateIndigo dye

Prussian blue(Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3):Deep Blue pigment

Biological useBodies need

Help oxygen get to our muscles

Will not take up more than needs

Needs very little

Most available to the body when added to amino acids

iron in this form is 10 to 15 times more digestible than it is as an element

Iron is also found in meat (e.g. steak)

Iron provided by diet supplements is in the form of a chemical (e.g. sulphate)

Cheap and Absorbed well

Recycled by a system which breaks down old cells in red blood cells

Biological usePresent in all cells in the human body and has several vital functions (e.g. as a carrier of oxygen to the tissues from the lungs in the form of hemoglobin)

Too little iron can interfere with vital functions and lead to morbidity and death.

The direct consequence of iron deficiency is iron deficiency anemia.

Total body iron averages approximately 3.8 g in men and 2.3 g in women.

Several mechanisms control human iron metabolism and safeguard against iron deficiency

(e.g. When loss of iron is not sufficiently compensated by adequate intake of iron from the diet, a state of iron deficiency develops over time. When this state is uncorrected, it leads to iron deficiency anemia.)

 

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