---
title: "Vanadium (V) — element 23"
description: "Vanadium is element 23, symbol V, atomic weight 50.942. Configuration, properties, uses and neighbours."
url: https://atoneplace.net/element/vanadium/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Vanadium (V)

**Vanadium — element 23: V**

50.942 u · Transition metal · period 4, group 5

Around 85% of vanadium goes into steel, and a few tenths of a percent is enough to transform it: the Ford Model T's chassis used vanadium steel, which is a large part of why it was both light and durable. Vanadium ions change colour with oxidation state — lilac, green, blue, yellow for +2 through +5 — which makes it a standard lecture demonstration and is also what a redox flow battery is exploiting. Del Río found it in 1801, was talked out of the claim by a French chemist who insisted it was chromium, and had to watch it rediscovered and renamed thirty years later.

## Properties

- **Atomic number:** 23
- **Symbol:** V
- **Standard atomic weight:** 50.942 u
- **Category:** Transition metal
- **Group:** 5
- **Period:** 4
- **Block:** d-block
- **Electron configuration:** [Ar] 4s² 3d³
- **Electrons per shell:** 2, 8, 11, 2
- **Melting point:** 2,183 K — 1909.8 °C — 3469.7 °F
- **Boiling point:** 3,680 K — 3406.8 °C — 6164.3 °F
- **Density:** 6 g/cm³
- **Electronegativity:** 1.63 (Pauling)
- **Oxidation states:** +5, +4, +3, +2
- **Discovered:** 1801 by Andrés Manuel del Río; confirmed by Nils Gabriel Sefström in 1830

## Electron configuration

- **Full:** 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d³
- **Noble gas shorthand:** [Ar] 4s² 3d³
- **Shells:** K: 2 · L: 8 · M: 11 · N: 2

## What it is used for

- High-strength low-alloy steel for pipelines, springs and rebar
- Vanadium redox flow batteries for grid storage
- Vanadium pentoxide as the catalyst in sulfuric acid manufacture
- Titanium-aluminium-vanadium alloy in aerospace and implants

## Neighbours in the table

| Z | Element | Symbol | Mass |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 21 | Scandium | Sc | 44.956 |
| 22 | Titanium | Ti | 47.867 |
| 23 | Vanadium ← | V | 50.942 |
| 24 | Chromium | Cr | 51.996 |
| 25 | Manganese | Mn | 54.938 |

## Group 5

Elements in the same group share their outer electron count, which is why they behave similarly in reactions. Vanadium sits in group 5 with niobium, tantalum, dubnium.

## Common questions

### What is the atomic number of vanadium?

23. That is the number of protons in its nucleus, which is what defines the element.

### What is the symbol for vanadium?

V.

### What is the electron configuration of vanadium?

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 4s² 3d³, or [Ar] 4s² 3d³ in noble-gas shorthand.

### What is the melting point of vanadium?

2,183 K — 1909.8 °C — 3469.7 °F

## Related pages

- [Scandium (Sc)](https://atoneplace.net/element/scandium/)
- [Titanium (Ti)](https://atoneplace.net/element/titanium/)
- [Chromium (Cr)](https://atoneplace.net/element/chromium/)
- [Manganese (Mn)](https://atoneplace.net/element/manganese/)
- [Niobium (Nb)](https://atoneplace.net/element/niobium/)
- [Tantalum (Ta)](https://atoneplace.net/element/tantalum/)
- [Dubnium (Db)](https://atoneplace.net/element/dubnium/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)