Manganese
Manganese is a hard, brittle, greyish-white metal that rarely gets much public attention despite being essential to one of the largest industries on Earth: steelmaking. It's also a necessary trace nutrient for the human body, needed in tiny amounts for healthy bone and metabolic function.
- Group · Period
- 7 · 4
- At room temp
- solid
- Melts at
- 1519 K
- Density
- 7.3 g/cm³
- Discovered
- 1774
Uses
Manganese’s dominant use by far is in steel production, where it’s added to remove sulfur and oxygen impurities from molten iron and to improve the strength, hardness, and wear resistance of the finished alloy — very little modern steel is made without it. Beyond steel, manganese dioxide is used as a key ingredient in standard alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries, where it helps drive the chemical reaction that generates electricity.
Manganese is also biologically important: the human body needs it in small amounts to support bone formation, wound healing, and various metabolic processes, and it’s found naturally in foods like whole grains, nuts, and leafy vegetables.
History
Manganese-containing minerals, particularly pyrolusite, were used since prehistoric times as pigments and later in early glassmaking, though no one recognized manganese as a distinct element until much later. Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele identified it as a likely new element in the early 1770s, and in 1774 his colleague Johan Gottlieb Gahn successfully isolated pure manganese metal by heating the mineral with charcoal. The name traces back to the same root as magnesium, both derived from Magnesia, a region in Greece where manganese-rich minerals were found.
Fun facts
- Nearly all manganese produced worldwide goes into steelmaking, where it removes impurities and improves the metal's strength.
- Manganese compounds were used as pigments in prehistoric cave paintings, long before anyone knew manganese was an element.
- It's an essential trace nutrient for humans, needed in small amounts for bone development and normal metabolism.
Frequently asked questions
What does manganese actually do in steel?
Manganese reacts with sulfur and oxygen impurities in molten iron, helping remove substances that would otherwise make the steel brittle. Beyond cleaning up the metal, it also improves the strength and hardness of the finished steel, which is why it's added to nearly every grade of steel produced.
Is manganese the same as magnesium?
No, despite the similar-sounding names, they're entirely different elements. Manganese is a hard transition metal used mainly in steel, while magnesium is a much lighter alkaline earth metal used in alloys and, notably, in chlorophyll in plants. The name mix-up is common, but their chemistry and uses don't overlap much at all.
Why were manganese compounds used in ancient cave paintings?
Manganese oxide minerals occur naturally as dark black or brown pigments, and prehistoric people ground them up to use as paint, alongside iron oxide pigments for reds and yellows. They had no idea manganese was a distinct element — they simply knew the mineral produced a durable, long-lasting black color.
Compounds
1 notable compound containing Mn
- KMnO4industrial
Potassium permanganate
A deep purple crystalline salt that acts as a strong oxidizing agent, staining almost anything it touches. Its color comes from manganese sitting in its +7 oxidation state.
Used for: Water treatment, wound disinfection, and wilderness fire-starting
Isotopes
29 known isotopes
Swipe to see all columns →
| Isotope | Natural abundance | Half-life | Decay mode | Mass excess | Binding energy / nucleon | Decay width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mn-55 stable | 100% | Stable | — | -57,712.54 keV | 8,765.02 keV | — |
Show all 29 isotopes
| Mn-44 | — | 105 ns | Electron capture, Proton emission | 7,460 keV | 7,457 keV | 4.35 × 10-9 eV |
| Mn-45 | — | — | Unknown | -4,980 keV | 7,747 keV | — |
| Mn-46 | — | 36.2 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP (57%) | -12,417.75 keV | 7,916.08 keV | 1.26 × 10-14 eV |
| Mn-47 | — | 100 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP (3.4%) | -22,566.38 keV | 8,135.31 keV | 4.56 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-48 | — | 157.7 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), Beta-plus, proton emission (0.28%), Beta-plus, alpha emission (0.0006%) | -29,296.64 keV | 8,274.19 keV | 2.89 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-49 | — | 382 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -37,619.93 keV | 8,439.92 keV | 1.19 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-50 | — | 283.19 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -42,626.89 keV | 8,532.68 keV | 1.61 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-51 | — | 46.2 m | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -48,243.23 keV | 8,633.76 keV | 1.65 × 10-19 eV |
| Mn-52 | — | 5.591 d | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -50,711.39 keV | 8,670.41 keV | 9.44 × 10-22 eV |
| Mn-53 | — | 3.7E+6 Y | Electron capture (100%) | -54,690.35 keV | 8,734.18 keV | 3.91 × 10-30 eV |
| Mn-54 | — | 312.20 d | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), Beta-minus decay (0.000093%) | -55,558.25 keV | 8,737.98 keV | 1.69 × 10-23 eV |
| Mn-56 | — | 2.5789 h | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -56,911.67 keV | 8,738.34 keV | 4.91 × 10-20 eV |
| Mn-57 | — | 85.4 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -57,486.28 keV | 8,736.71 keV | 5.34 × 10-18 eV |
| Mn-58 | — | 3.0 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -55,827.57 keV | 8,696.64 keV | 1.52 × 10-16 eV |
| Mn-59 | — | 4.59 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -55,525.33 keV | 8,680.92 keV | 9.94 × 10-17 eV |
| Mn-60 | — | 0.28 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Isomeric transition (100%) | -52,967.95 keV | 8,628.14 keV | 1.63 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-61 | — | 0.709 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (0.2%) | -51,742.13 keV | 8,598.92 keV | 6.43 × 10-16 eV |
| Mn-62 | — | 92 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -48,523.97 keV | 8,538.5 keV | 4.96 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-63 | — | 0.275 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -46,887.06 keV | 8,505.1 keV | 1.66 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-64 | — | 90 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (2.7%) | -42,989.04 keV | 8,437.42 keV | 5.07 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-65 | — | 92 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (7.9%) | -40,967.34 keV | 8,400.68 keV | 4.96 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-66 | — | 65 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -36,750.39 keV | 8,331.8 keV | 7.02 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-67 | — | 47 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -33,580 keV | 8,281 keV | 9.71 × 10-15 eV |
| Mn-68 | — | 28 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (0%) | -28,920 keV | 8,209 keV | 1.63 × 10-14 eV |
| Mn-69 | — | 16 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -25,360 keV | 8,155 keV | 2.85 × 10-14 eV |
| Mn-70 | — | 19.9 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (50%) | -20,450 keV | 8,084 keV | 2.29 × 10-14 eV |
| Mn-72 | — | 620 ns | Beta-minus decay, Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -11,170 keV | 7,955 keV | 7.36 × 10-10 eV |
| Mn-73 | — | — | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -6,700 keV | 7,895 keV | — |