Nickel
Nickel is a hard, silvery-white metal valued for its resistance to corrosion and its usefulness as an alloying ingredient, most famously in stainless steel. Like cobalt, its name traces back to frustrated miners who blamed a deceptive, copper-like ore on a folkloric trickster.
- Group · Period
- 10 · 4
- At room temp
- solid
- Melts at
- 1728 K
- Density
- 8.912 g/cm³
- Discovered
- 1751
Uses
Nickel’s most important role is as an alloying element in stainless steel, where it improves corrosion resistance and makes the metal easier to shape without becoming brittle — a huge share of the nickel produced worldwide goes into this single application. It’s also used in rechargeable batteries, including nickel-metal hydride batteries and as a component in some lithium-ion battery chemistries, and in coinage, where nickel-copper alloys have long been used for their durability and resistance to wear.
Electroplating is another common use: a thin layer of nickel can be applied to other metals to protect them from corrosion and give them a bright, durable finish, often as an undercoat before chrome plating.
History
German miners in the 16th century encountered a reddish ore that resembled copper ore but yielded nothing useful when smelted, and they blamed the deception on “Old Nick,” a mischievous spirit of German folklore, naming the ore “kupfernickel,” or false copper. In 1751, Swedish chemist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt investigated the ore and successfully isolated a new metal from it, proving it wasn’t copper at all but a genuinely distinct element. He named it nickel, keeping the miners’ old nickname for the metal that had puzzled them for so long.
Fun facts
- Nickel gets its name from 'kupfernickel,' German miners' term for a copper-colored ore that stubbornly refused to yield any copper.
- It's strongly ferromagnetic, one of only a handful of elements naturally attracted to magnets at room temperature.
- The US five-cent coin is nicknamed the 'nickel' because early versions were made largely from a copper-nickel alloy.
Frequently asked questions
Why is nickel added to stainless steel?
Nickel improves stainless steel's resistance to corrosion and gives it better toughness and ductility, making it easier to form into sheets, pipes, and other shapes without cracking. Combined with chromium, which provides most of the corrosion resistance, nickel helps produce the tougher, more workable grades of stainless steel used in kitchens, hospitals, and industry.
Is a US 'nickel' coin actually made of nickel?
Only partly. The modern US five-cent coin is mostly copper with a smaller portion of nickel, not pure nickel metal — but the nickel content was enough to earn the coin its nickname when it was first introduced, and the name has stuck ever since, even as the exact alloy composition changed over time.
Why did German miners think nickel ore was cursed?
The ore, now known to contain nickel, looked like it should contain copper, but repeated smelting attempts produced no copper at all. Frustrated miners blamed the deception on "Old Nick," a mischievous spirit from German folklore, and named the ore after him — a name that carried over once the metal was finally identified.
Compounds
4 notable compounds containing Ni
- NiCl2salt
Nickel(II) chloride
A yellow-brown solid that turns green upon hydration, serving as a common, water-soluble entry point for preparing other nickel compounds and catalysts.
Used for: Catalyst precursor in organic synthesis and nickel electroplating
- Ni(OH)2industrial
Nickel(II) hydroxide
A pale green solid that acts as the active positive-electrode material in several rechargeable battery chemistries, cycling between nickel(II) and nickel(III) states as the battery charges and discharges.
Used for: Positive electrode material in nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries
- NiOoxide
Nickel(II) oxide
A green-black solid formed by nickel's stable +2 oxidation state, used both as a coloring agent and as a starting material for producing metallic nickel and other nickel compounds.
Used for: Ceramic glazes and precursor for nickel-metal hydride battery electrodes
- NiSO4salt
Nickel(II) sulfate
A blue-green crystalline salt that is the primary nickel source used in electroplating baths, valued for its high solubility and consistent nickel(II) ion supply.
Used for: Nickel electroplating
Isotopes
35 known isotopes
Swipe to see all columns →
| Isotope | Natural abundance | Half-life | Decay mode | Mass excess | Binding energy / nucleon | Decay width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ni-58 stable | 68.0769% | Stable | — | -60,228.87 keV | 8,732.06 keV | — |
| Ni-60 stable | 26.2231% | Stable | — | -64,473.24 keV | 8,780.78 keV | — |
| Ni-61 stable | 1.1399% | Stable | — | -64,222.03 keV | 8,765.03 keV | — |
| Ni-62 stable | 3.6345% | Stable | — | -66,746.44 keV | 8,794.56 keV | — |
| Ni-64 stable | 0.9256% | Stable | — | -67,099.03 keV | 8,777.46 keV | — |
Show all 35 isotopes
| Ni-48 | — | 2.1 ms | Two-proton emission (70%), Beta-plus, proton emission (30%) | 18,178 keV | 7,236 keV | 2.17 × 10-13 eV |
| Ni-49 | — | 7.5 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), Beta-plus, proton emission (83%) | 8,530 keV | 7,450 keV | 6.08 × 10-14 eV |
| Ni-50 | — | 18.5 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP (73%), EC2P (14%) | -3,460 keV | 7,702 keV | 2.47 × 10-14 eV |
| Ni-51 | — | 23.8 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP (87.2%), EC2P (0.5%) | -11,650 keV | 7,870 keV | 1.92 × 10-14 eV |
| Ni-52 | — | 40.8 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), Beta-plus, proton emission (31.4%) | -22,559.86 keV | 8,083.9 keV | 1.12 × 10-14 eV |
| Ni-53 | — | 55.2 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP (23.4%) | -29,630.83 keV | 8,217.07 keV | 8.27 × 10-15 eV |
| Ni-54 | — | 114.2 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -39,278.31 keV | 8,393.03 keV | 4.00 × 10-15 eV |
| Ni-55 | — | 203.7 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -45,335.96 keV | 8,497.32 keV | 2.24 × 10-15 eV |
| Ni-56 | — | 6.075 d | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -53,907.65 keV | 8,642.78 keV | 8.69 × 10-22 eV |
| Ni-57 | — | 35.60 h | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -56,083.96 keV | 8,670.94 keV | 3.56 × 10-21 eV |
| Ni-59 | — | 7.6E+4 Y | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -61,156.83 keV | 8,736.59 keV | 1.90 × 10-28 eV |
| Ni-63 | — | 101.2 Y | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -65,512.89 keV | 8,763.5 keV | 1.43 × 10-25 eV |
| Ni-65 | — | 2.5175 h | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -65,125.8 keV | 8,736.24 keV | 5.03 × 10-20 eV |
| Ni-66 | — | 54.6 h | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -66,006.29 keV | 8,739.51 keV | 2.32 × 10-21 eV |
| Ni-67 | — | 21 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -63,742.69 keV | 8,695.75 keV | 2.17 × 10-17 eV |
| Ni-68 | — | 29 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -63,463.82 keV | 8,682.47 keV | 1.57 × 10-17 eV |
| Ni-69 | — | 11.4 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -59,978.66 keV | 8,623.1 keV | 4.00 × 10-17 eV |
| Ni-70 | — | 6.0 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -59,213.87 keV | 8,604.29 keV | 7.60 × 10-17 eV |
| Ni-71 | — | 2.56 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -55,406.24 keV | 8,543.16 keV | 1.78 × 10-16 eV |
| Ni-72 | — | 1.57 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -54,226.07 keV | 8,520.21 keV | 2.91 × 10-16 eV |
| Ni-73 | — | 0.84 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -50,108.16 keV | 8,457.65 keV | 5.43 × 10-16 eV |
| Ni-74 | — | 507.7 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -48,700 keV | 8,433 keV | 8.99 × 10-16 eV |
| Ni-75 | — | 344 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (10%) | -44,240 keV | 8,369 keV | 1.33 × 10-15 eV |
| Ni-76 | — | 0.238 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -42,190 keV | 8,338 keV | 1.92 × 10-15 eV |
| Ni-77 | — | 158.9 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (26%), B-2N | -37,350 keV | 8,272 keV | 2.87 × 10-15 eV |
| Ni-78 | — | 0.11 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission | -34,880 keV | 8,238 keV | 4.15 × 10-15 eV |
| Ni-79 | — | 43.0 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -28,160 keV | 8,150 keV | 1.06 × 10-14 eV |
| Ni-80 | — | 24 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -23,240 keV | 8,088 keV | 1.90 × 10-14 eV |
| Ni-81 | — | — | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -16,090 keV | 8,000 keV | — |
| Ni-82 | — | — | Unknown | -10,720 keV | 7,935 keV | — |