Niobium monoxide
Encyclopedia
Niobium monoxide
Niobium monoxide, is the chemical compoundChemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
with the formula
Chemical formula
A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....
Nb
Niobium
Niobium or columbium , is a chemical element with the symbol Nb and atomic number 41. It's a soft, grey, ductile transition metal, which is often found in the pyrochlore mineral, the main commercial source for niobium, and columbite...
O
Oxide
An oxide is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom in its chemical formula. Metal oxides typically contain an anion of oxygen in the oxidation state of −2....
. It is a grey solid with metallic conductivity. It has an unusual cubic crystal structure, related to the rock salt structure, where both niobium and oxygen atoms are four coordinate square planar. The niobium atoms are arranged in octahedra and there is a structural similarity to the octahedral niobium clusters in lower halides of niobium. In NbO the Nb-Nb bond length is 298 pm which compares to 285 pm in the metal. One study of the bonding concludes that there are strong and nearly covalent bonds between the metal atoms.
It is a superconductor at 1.38 K. It is used in capacitors where a layer of Nb2O5
Niobium pentoxide
Niobium pentoxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Nb2O5. It is a colourless insoluble solid that is fairly unreactive. It is the main precursor to all materials made of niobium, the dominant application being alloys, but other specialized applications include capacitors, lithium niobate,...
is formed around NbO grains as the dielectric.
NbO can be prepared by reduction of Nb2O5
Niobium pentoxide
Niobium pentoxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Nb2O5. It is a colourless insoluble solid that is fairly unreactive. It is the main precursor to all materials made of niobium, the dominant application being alloys, but other specialized applications include capacitors, lithium niobate,...
by H2