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) chloride Zirconium(IV) chloride Zirconium(IV) chloride, also known as zirconium tetrachloride, () is an inorganic compound frequently used as a precursor to other compounds of zirconium. This white high-melting solid hydrolyzes rapidly in humid air. Unlike molecular TiCl, solid ZrCl adopts a polymeric structure wherein each Zr is octahedrally coordinated. This difference in structures is responsible for the disparity in their properties: is distillable, but is a solid. In the solid state, ZrCl adopts a tape-like linear polymeric structure—the same structure adopted by HfCl. This polymer degrades readily upon treatment with Lewis bases, which cleave the Zr-Cl-Zr linkages. This conversion entails treatment