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) bromide the solid state, featuring octahedral Zr centers. Zirconium(IV) bromide Zirconium(IV) bromide is the inorganic compound with the formula ZrBr. This colourless solid is the principal precursor to other Zr–Br compounds. ZrBr is prepared by the action of bromine on zirconium oxide via a carbothermic reaction: Like many related tetrahalides, it is purified by sublimation. Like related tetrabromides of Ti and Hf, ZrBr hydrolyzes readily to give oxy-bromide, with release of hydrogen bromide. No single crystal X-ray study of ZrBr has been described. Some reports suggest that it is isostructural with TiCl and TiBr, featuring tetrahedral metal centers. Other studies indicate