Metals

Metals are very useful. Ores are naturally occurring rocks that contain metal or metal
compounds in sufficient amounts to make it worthwhile extracting them. For example,
iron ore is used to make iron and steel. Copper is easily extracted, but ores rich in
copper are becoming more difficult to find. Aluminium and titanium are metals with
useful properties, but they are expensive to extract. Most everyday metals are
mixtures called alloys.
Methods of extracting metals
The Earth's crust contains metals and metal compounds such as gold, iron oxide and
aluminium oxide, but when found in the Earth these are often mixed with other substances.
To be useful, the metals have to be extracted from whatever they are mixed with. A metal
ore is a rock containing a metal, or a metal compound, in a high enough concentration to
make it economic to extract the metal.
The method used to extract metals from the ore in which they are found depends on their
reactivity. For example, reactive metals such as aluminium are extracted byelectrolysis,
while a less-reactive metal such as iron may be extracted by reductionwith carbon or carbon
monoxide.
Thus the method of extraction of a metal from its ore depends on the metal's position in the
reactivity series:
Reactivity and extraction method
Metals - in decreasing order of
reactivity
potassium
sodium
calcium
magnesium
aluminium

Reactivity
extract by electrolysis

carbon
zinc
iron
tin
lead

extract by reaction with carbon orcarbon

monoxide

hydrogen
copper
silver
gold
platinum

extracted by various chemical reactions

Note that gold, because it is so unreactive, is found as the native metal and not as a
compound, so it does not need to be chemically separated. However, chemical reactions
may be needed to remove other elements that might contaminate the metal.

Making iron
In the blast furnace

Blast furnace in a modern steel works

Iron is extracted from iron ore in a huge container called a blast furnace. Iron ores such
as haematite contain iron oxide. The oxygen must be removed from the iron oxide to leave
the iron behind. Reactions in which oxygen is removed are calledreduction reactions.
Carbon is more reactive than iron, so it can push out or displace the iron from iron oxide.
Here are the equations for the reaction:
iron oxide + carbon
2Fe2O3 + 3C

iron + carbon dioxide

4Fe + 3CO2

In this reaction, the iron oxide is reduced to iron, and the carbon is oxidised to carbon
dioxide.
In the blast furnace, it is so hot that carbon monoxide can be used to reduce the iron oxide in
place of carbon:
iron oxide + carbon monoxide
Fe2O3 + 3CO

iron + carbon dioxide

2Fe + 3CO2

Raw materials for the reaction

The raw materials for extracting iron and their function in the process
Raw material

Contains

Function

iron ore
(haematite)

iron oxide

a compound that contains iron

coke

carbon

burns in air to produce heat, and reacts to form carbon

monoxide (needed to reduce the iron oxide)

limestone

calcium

helps to remove acidic impurities from the iron by

Raw material

air

Contains

Function

carbonate

reacting with them to form molten slag

oxygen

allows the coke to burn, and so produces heat and

carbon monoxide

Steel
Iron

Layers of atoms slide over each other when metals are bent or stretched
Pure iron is soft and easily shaped. This is because its atoms are arranged in a regular way
that lets layers of atoms slide over each other.Pure iron is too soft for many uses.
Iron from the blast furnace is an alloy of about 96 per cent iron with carbon and some other
impurities. It is hard, but too brittle for most uses. So, most iron from the blast furnace is
converted into steel by removing some of the carbon.
Steel
Carbon is removed by blowing oxygen into the molten metal. It reacts with the carbon
producing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. These escape from the molten metal.
Enough oxygen is used to achieve steel with the desired carbon content. Other metals are
often added, such as vanadium and chromium.
There are many different types of steel, depending on the other elements mixed with the
iron. The table summarises the properties of some different steels.
A summary of the properties of some different steels
type of steel

iron alloyed with

properties

typical use

low carbon steel

about 0.25 per cent carbon

easily shaped

car body panels

type of steel

iron alloyed with

properties

typical use

high carbon steel

up to 2.5 per cent carbon

hard

cutting tools

stainless steel

chromium and nickel

resistant to corrosion

cutlery and sinks

Alloys
The properties of a metal are changed by including other elements, such as carbon. A
mixture of two or more elements, where at least one element is a metal, is called an alloy.
Alloys contain atoms of different sizes, which distort the regular arrangements of atoms. This
makes it more difficult for the layers to slide over each other, so alloys are harder than the
pure metal.

It is more difficult for layers of atoms to slide over each other in alloys
Copper, gold and aluminium are too soft for many uses. They are mixed with other metals to
make them harder for everyday use. For example:

Brass, used in electrical fittings, is 70 per cent copper and 30 per cent zinc.
18 carat gold, used in jewellery, is 75 per cent gold and 25 per cent copper and
other metals.
Duralumin, used in aircraft manufacture, is 96 per cent aluminium and 4 per cent
copper and other metals.
Smart alloys can return to their original shape after being bent. They are useful for spectacle
frames and dental braces.
The transition metals
You need to know where to find the transition metals in the periodic table. The transition
metals are found in the large block between Groups 2 and 3 in the periodic table. Most
metals are placed here, including iron, titanium, copper and nickel.

The transition metals

Common properties
The transition metals have these properties in common:

They are metals.

They form coloured compounds.

They are good conductors of heat and electricity.

They can be hammered or bent into shape easily.

They are less reactive than alkali metals such as sodium, they havehigher melting

points - but mercury is a liquid at room temperature -and they are hard and tough.
They have high densities.
Copper
Copper is a transition metal. It is soft, easily bent and it is a good conductor of electricity.
This makes copper useful for electrical wiring. Copper does not react with water, which
makes it useful for plumbing.
Copper is purified by electrolysis. Electricity is passed through solutions containing copper
compounds, such as copper sulfate - sometimes spelt sulphate. Pure copper forms on the
negative electrode. The animation shows how this works, but note that you do not need to
know the details of the extraction process for your examination.
Problems
We are running out of ores rich in copper. Research is being carried out to find new ways to
extract copper from the remaining ores, without harming the environment too much. This
research is very important, as traditional mining produces huge open-cast mines, and the
remaining ores are low-grade, which means that they contain relatively little copper and
produce a lot of waste rock.

Aluminium and titanium

Block of aluminium metal - image does not show the transparent oxide layer
Aluminium and titanium are two metals with a low density. This means that they are
lightweight for their size. They also have a very thin layer of their oxides on the surface,
which stops air and water getting to the metal, so aluminium and titanium resist corrosion.
These properties make the two metals very useful.
Aluminium is used for aircraft, trains, overhead power cables, saucepans and cooking foil.
Titanium is used for fighter aircraft, artificial hip joints and pipes in nuclear power stations.
Extraction
Unlike iron, aluminium and titanium cannot be extracted from their oxides by reduction with
carbon:

Aluminium is more reactive than carbon, so the reaction does not work.
Titanium forms titanium carbide with carbon, which makes the metal brittle.
Aluminium extraction is expensive because the process needs a lot of electrical energy.
Titanium extraction is expensive because the process involves several stages and a lot of
energy. This especially limits the uses of titanium.
Recycling
Aluminium is extensively recycled because less energy is needed to produce recycled
aluminium than to extract aluminium from its ore. Recycling preserves limited resources
and requires less energy, so it causes less damage to the environment