Manganese Manganese Manganese is a chemical element with symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is not found as a free element in nature; it is often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a metal with important industrial metal alloy uses, particularly in stainless steels. Historically, manganese is named for pyrolusite and other black minerals from the region of Magnesia in Greece, which also gave its name to magnesium and the iron ore magnetite. By the mid-18th century, Swedish-German chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele had used pyrolusite to produce chlorine. Scheele and others were aware that pyrolusite (now known
Manganese Manganese compounds where manganese is in oxidation state +7, which are mostly restricted to the unstable oxide MnO, compounds of the intensely purple permanganate anion MnO, and a few oxyhalides (MnOF and MnOCl), are powerful oxidizing agents. Compounds with oxidation states +5 (blue) and +6 (green) are strong oxidizing agents and are vulnerable to disproportionation. The most stable oxidation state for manganese is +2, which has a pale pink color, and many manganese(II) compounds are known, such as manganese(II) sulfate (MnSO) and manganese(II) chloride (MnCl). This oxidation state is also seen in the mineral rhodochrosite (manganese(II) carbonate). Manganese(II) most commonly