Nickel

Nickel is a ferromagnetic heavy metal that belongs to the group of transition metals. It loses its ferromagnetic properties at temperatures above the Curie point (354°C).

Nickel is a shiny silvery-white colour. It is a medium-hard, ductile metal that can be forged and polished. It retains its cold Toughness down to -200°C but tends to smear during Machining when soft. It is mostly supplied in strain-hardened form in sheets, strips or wires.

Nickel surfaces are easy to passivate, for example using nitric acid. Nickel also exhibits excellent Resistance to Corrosion in air, water, alkaline solutions and salts. However, it reacts readily with sulphur to form nickel sulphide, which significantly impairs its properties.

Nickel is a principal component of numerous Nickel alloys and is also used as an alloying element for cast Iron and Steel as well as in Copper and light metal alloys.

In addition to this, it is used for components such as batteries in the electrical engineering and electronics industries.