Ferrous

Ferrous oxide is more correctly called iron(II) oxide.

Ferrous (Fe2+), in chemistry, indicates a divalent iron compound (+2 oxidation state), as opposed to ferric, which indicates a trivalent iron compound (+3 oxidation state).[1] This usage has mostly been deprecated, with current IUPAC nomenclature having names containing the oxidation state in bracketed Roman numerals instead, such as iron(II) oxide for ferrous oxide (FeO), and iron(III) oxide for ferric oxide (Fe2O3).

Pourbaix diagram of aqueous iron

Outside chemistry, ferrous is an adjective used to indicate the presence of iron.[1] The word is derived from the Latin word ferrum ("iron").[2] Ferrous metals include steel and pig iron (with a carbon content of a few percent) and alloys of iron with other metals (such as stainless steel). Manipulation of atom-to-atom relationships between iron, carbon, and various alloying elements establishes the specific properties of ferrous metals.[3]

The term non-ferrous is used to indicate metals other than iron and alloys that do not contain an appreciable amount of iron.[4]

See also

References

Look up ferrous or nonferrous in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. 1 2 Ferrous, Merriam-Webster, retrieved 19 April 2008.
  2. ↑ Etymology (Meaning of Words), 30 November 2007, retrieved 19 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Ferrous Alloys Properties". All Metals & Forge Group. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Non ferrous, Merriam-Webster, retrieved 19 April 2008.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.