Zirconium for use in jewelry. Zirconia is a component in some abrasives, such as grinding wheels and sandpaper. A small fraction of the zircon is converted to the metal, which finds various niche applications. Because of zirconium's excellent resistance to corrosion, it is often used as an alloying agent in materials that are exposed to aggressive environments, such as surgical appliances, light filaments, and watch cases. The high reactivity of zirconium with oxygen at high temperatures is exploited in some specialised applications such as explosive primers and as getters in vacuum tubes. The same property is (probably) the purpose of including
Zirconium(IV) iodide subliming as intact tetrahedral ZrI molecules. It is prepared by the direct reaction of powdered zirconium metal and iodine. Pyrolysis of zirconium(IV) iodide gas by contact of hot wire was the first industrial process for the commercial production of pure ductile metallic zirconium. This crystal bar process was developed by Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer in 1925. Zirconium(IV) iodide Zirconium(IV) iodide is the chemical compound with the formula ZrI. It is the most readily available iodide of zirconium. It is an orange-coloured solid that degrades in the presence of water.The compound was once prominent as an