Discovered by Cronstedt in 1751 in kupfernickel (niccolite). Nickel is found as a constituent in most meteoritesand often serves as one of the criteria for distinguishing a meteorite from other minerals. Iron meteorites, or siderites, may contain iron alloyed withfrom 5 to nearly 20% nickel. Nickel is obtained commercially from pentlandite and pyrrhotite of the Sudbury region of Ontario, a district that producesmuch of the world’s nickel. It is now thought that the Sudbury deposit is the result of an ancient meteorite impact. Other deposits of nickel are foundin Russia, New Caledonia, Australia, Cuba, Indonesia, and elsewhere. Nickel is silvery white and takes on a high polish. It is hard, malleable, ductile,somewhat ferromagnetic, and a fair conductor of heat and electricity. It belongs to the iron-cobalt group of metals and is chiefly valuable for the alloysit forms. It is extensively used for making stainless steel and other corrosion-resistant alloys such as Invar(R), Monel(R), Inconel(R), and the Hastelloys(R).Tubing made of a copper-nickel alloy is extensively used in making desalination plants for converting sea water into fresh water. Nickel is also nowused extensively in coinage and in making nickel steel for armor plate and burglar-proof vaults, and is a component in Nichrome®, Permalloy®, andconstantan. Nickel added to glass gives a green color. Nickel plating is often used to provide a protective coating for other metals, and finely dividednickel is a catalyst for hydrogenating vegetable oils. It is also used in ceramics, in the manufacture of Alnico magnets, and in the Edison® storagebattery. The sulfate and the oxides are important compounds. Natural nickel is a mixture of five stable isotopes; nineteen other unstable isotopes areknown. Nickel sulfide fume and dust is recognized as having carcinogenic potential. Nickel metal (99.9%) is priced at about $100/kg or less in largerquantities. 1

• "Stainless steels show high tensile strength and excellent resistance to corrosion. The most common kind contains 14-18% chromium and 7-9% nickel." 2
• "Miners of nickel ore have a high rate of nasal cancer." 3

Melting Point:4*  1455 °C = 1728.15 K = 2651 °F
Boiling Point:4* 2913 °C = 3186.15 K = 5275.4 °F
Sublimation Point:4 
Triple Point:4 
Critical Point:4 
Density:5  8.90 g/cm3

* - at 1 atm

Electron Configuration

Bonding

Thermochemistry

Isotopes

Earth - Source Compounds: sulfides 16
Earth - Seawater: 0.00056 mg/L 17
Earth -  Crust:  84 mg/kg = 0.0084% 17
Earth -  Mantle:  0.3% 18
Earth -  Core:  8.5% 18
Earth -  Lithosphere:  0.01% 19
Earth -  Total:  1.82% 20
Mercury -  Total:  3.66% 20
Venus -  Total:  1.77 % 20
Universe -  Total:  0.006% 18
Chondrites - Total: 4×10⁴ (relative to 106 atoms of Si) 21
Human Body - Total: 0.00001% 22

Material Safety Data Sheet - ACI Alloys, Inc.

External Links:

Journals:
(1) John Trowbridge and Samuel Sheldon, Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 24, 181-184 (1889)

(1) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:20.
(2) - Whitten, Kenneth W., Davis, Raymond E., and Peck, M. Larry. General Chemistry 6th ed.; Saunders College Publishing: Orlando, FL, 2000; p 912.
(3) - Neighbors, Marianne and Tannehill-Jones, Ruth. Human Diseases, 2nd ed.; Thomson Delmar Learning: Clifton Park, NY, 2006; p 32.
(4) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:132.
(5) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 84th ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:39-4:96.
(6) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1973; p 4:8-4:149.
(7) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 84th ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10:147-10:148.
(8) - Speight, James. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 16th ed.; McGraw-Hill Professional: Boston, MA, 2004; p 1:132.
(9) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10:178 - 10:180.
(10) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4:133.
(11) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:193, 12:219-220.
(12) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:123-6:137.
(13) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; pp 6:107-6:122.
(14) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 12th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1979; p 9:4-9:94.
(15) - Atomic Mass Data Center. http://amdc.in2p3.fr/web/nubase_en.html (accessed July 14, 2009).
(16) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 965.
(17) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 14:17.
(18) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 962.
(19) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 964.
(20) - Morgan, John W. and Anders, Edward, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77, 6973-6977 (1980)
(21) - Brownlow, Arthur. Geochemistry; Prentice-Hall, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979, pp 15-16.
(22) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 7:17.