Manganese 25 Mn 54.938045(5)   Switch element to... actinium aluminium aluminum americium antimony argon arsenic astatine barium berkelium beryllium bismuth bohrium boron bromine cadmium caesium calcium californium carbon cerium cesium chlorine chromium cobalt copper curium darmstadtium dubnium dysprosium einsteinium erbium europium fermium fluorine francium gadolinium gallium germanium gold hafnium hassium helium holmium hydrogen indium iodine iridium iron krypton lanthanum lawrencium lead lithium lutetium magnesium manganese meitnerium mendelevium mercury molybdenum neodymium neon neptunium nickel niobium nitrogen nobelium osmium oxygen palladium phosphorus platinum plutonium polonium potassium praseodymium promethium protactinium radium radon rhenium rhodium roentgenium rubidium ruthenium rutherfordium samarium scandium seaborgium selenium silicon silver sodium strontium sulfur sulphur tantalum technetium tellurium terbium thallium thorium thulium tin titanium tungsten ununbium ununhexium ununoctium ununpentium ununquadium ununtrium uranium vanadium xenon ytterbium yttrium zinc zirconium Go adjacent...       Cr Mn Fe Mo Tc Ru

The essentials

Description 

Here is a brief description of manganese.

• Standard state: solid at 298 K
• Colour: silvery metallic
• Classification: Metallic
• Availability:

Image adapted with permission from Prof James Marshall's (U. North Texas, USA) Walking Tour of the elements CD.

The metal is gray-white, resembling iron, but is harder and very brittle. The metal is reactive chemically, and decomposes cold water slowly. Manganese is widely distributed throughout the animal kingdom. It is an important trace element and may be essential for utilisation of vitamin B. Manganese is present in quantity the floor of oceans. It is an important component of steel.

Nearing Zero cartoon included by kind permission of Nick Kim.

Isolation

It is not normally necessary to make manganese in the laboratory as it is available commercially. Nearly all manganese produced commercially is used in the steel industry as ferromanganese. This made by the reduction of iron oxide, Fe₂O₃, and managanese dioxide, MnO₂, in appropriate proportions with carbon (as coke) in a blast furnace. Pure manganese is available through the electrolysis of manganese sulphate, MnSO₄,

	Web webelements.com