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Nickel is a silvery-white metal found in Group 8 of Period 4 of the periodic table, with the symbol Ni and atomic number 28. Its electron configuration is 3d^8 4s^2, with an atomic mass of 58.69, a melting point of 1455°C, and a boiling point of 2730°C. At room temperature, its density is 8.908 g/cm³. Nickel has a face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure, where each unit cell contains 4 metal atoms and belongs to the P63/mmc space group. At room temperature, nickel is solid, with a hardness of 5 on the Mohs scale, offering excellent mechanical strength and ductility. Additionally, nickel has good electrical and thermal conductivity, as well as polishing properties and magnetism. In the mid-18th century, Swedish scientist Alex Fredrik Cronstedt extracted a new metal from red arsenic nickel ore and named it "Nickel," which became known as metallic nickel. In 1775, Swedish chemist and mineralogist Torbern Bergman successfully isolated pure nickel and confirmed it as a chemical element.
Nickel metal is highly stable chemically and possesses excellent mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and magnetic qualities, making it widely used in various industries such as military manufacturing, civil machinery manufacturing, electroplating, new energy materials production, and industrial catalysis. Generally, nickel's uses can be divided into the following five categories:
Nickel is essential in both the steel industry and the nickel-based alloy sector. The consumption of nickel in the steel industry is massive, exceeding 60% of global refined nickel production, primarily for the production of stainless steel. Nickel-based alloys offer high strength and oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures, making them widely applicable in industries such as aerospace, shipping, chemical, electronics, medical, and energy. Typical nickel-based alloys include: nickel-chromium alloys, copper-nickel alloys, titanium-nickel alloys, and nickel alloys used for hydrogen storage.
Nickel plating is widely used to protect steel and other metal substrates from wear and corrosion, providing better corrosion resistance than zinc plating. Nickel plating can be done either through electroplating or electroless plating. Electroplated nickel is commonly used for optical instrument coatings, protective decorative coatings, and electronic components in casting crystallizers. Electroless nickel plating, on the other hand, is particularly suited for functional coatings on complex-shaped parts. Nickel electroplating is the second most widely used form of electroplating, after zinc, accounting for about 10% of total global nickel consumption.
Currently, the industrial production of nickel-based batteries such as Ni-Cd, Ni-Zn, and Ni-H2 is an important way to ensure energy security and transition to a low-carbon economy. Among these, nickel-hydrogen batteries are the most mature in terms of technology and offer the best overall performance for hybrid vehicle power systems. As new energy technologies continue to develop, lithium-ion batteries have become a major research focus for energy storage technology worldwide. Nickel-based binary and ternary materials have become promising cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries.
Due to its resistance to poisoning by H2S and SO2, nickel-based catalysts are commonly used in hydrogenation processes in the petrochemical industry, as well as in methane synthesis for coal-based synthetic natural gas processes.
Nickel’s magnetic properties make it useful for manufacturing electromagnetic cranes. Nickel oxide is used in the production of pigments and dyes with excellent chemical stability and strong covering power. Additionally, nickel is used in the preparation of new ceramic materials such as nickel-ferrite and nickel-zinc ferrites, which are mainly applied in high-frequency electrical components.
