Manganese: The 25th Element On The Periodic Table

Manganese is the 25th element on the periodic table located in period four, and group seven, making it a (transition) metal with a maximum of seven valence electrons. In a neutral atom, manganese has 25 protons, 25 electrons, and 30 neutrons. The identity of manganese is determined by having 25 protons, and the chemical symbol of Mn. It has an atomic number of 25, a mass number of 55, and an atomic mass of 54.938amu. The electron configuration of manganese is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d5 and the abbreviated configuration is [Ar] 4s2 3d5. Manganese is a silvery, brittle, lustrous solid at room temperature. The boiling point for manganese is 3563.6 °F, while the melting point is 2275 ºF. Because Manganese is an oxidizer, it is very reactive with

Humans have been using manganese for thousands of years, even if they did not realize it. Prehistoric humans in the Lascaux region of France would create paintings on the walls of caves using black ore pyrolusite, or manganese dioxide (MnO2), around 30,000 years ago. Because natural glass has a greenish tint to it due to iron impurities, glass makers would use manganese to remove the tint and make glass clear. In 1740, a Berlin glass technologist named Johann Heinrich Pott began chemically investigating manganese only to discover that it contained no iron. With his discovery, Pott created one of the strongest oxidizing agents called potassium permanganate (KMnO4). Various chemists tried to isolate the metal component in pyrolusite and were unsuccessful until 1774 when Johan Gottlieb Gahn, a chemist a mineralogist, was able separate this metal which happened to be manganese. Although Gahn was credited with its discovery, in 1771, a student in Vienna named Ignatius Kaim wrote a dissertation on how he was able to produce

Because manganese cannot be used as a solid metal because it is too brittle, it is used in alloys such a steel. Manganese also forms highly magnetic alloys with aluminum, antimony, and copper. Drink cans, which are made from an aluminum alloy, contain 1.5% manganese to prevent corrosion. Regular steel contains around 1% manganese to increase the durability and resistance to wear. Manganese steel contains approximately 13% manganese and is used for railway tracks, safes, rifle barrels, and prison bars because it is very strong. Manganese is also used to make fertilizers, which are given to grazing animals as a food supplement, and ceramics. In nature, manganese is the fifth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, and the second most abundant metal under iron. Its minerals have been distributed all across the world and are most commonly found in pyrolusite and rhodochrosite, which is a carbonate. Manganese is primarily mined in Africa, Australia, China, and Gabon through the process of reducing the oxide with sodium, magnesium, aluminum, or the electrolysis of manganese sulfate. Manganese is essential for both humans and plants. The enzyme responsible for converting water molecules into oxygen through photosynthesis in plants contains four manganese atoms. The average human body contains 12 milligrams of manganese, and without it, our bones would break more easily and we would not be able to utilize vitamin B1.