Cobalt(II) naphthenate Cobalt(II) naphthenate Cobalt(II) naphthenate is a mixture of cobalt(II) derivatives of naphthenic acids. These coordination complexes are widely used as oil drying agents for the autoxidative crosslinking of drying oils. Metal naphthenates are not well defined in conventional chemical sense that they are mixtures. They are widely employed catalysts because they are soluble in the nonpolar substrates, such as the alkyd resins or linseed oil. The fact that naphthenates are mixtures helps to confer high solubility. A second virtue of these species is their low cost. A well-defined compound that exhibits many of the properties of cobalt naphthenate is the
Cobalt radiation therapy. Cobalt-57 (Co-57 or Co) is a cobalt radioisotope most often used in medical tests, as a radiolabel for vitamin B uptake, and for the Schilling test. Cobalt-57 is used as a source in Mössbauer spectroscopy and is one of several possible sources in X-ray fluorescence devices. Nuclear weapon designs could intentionally incorporate Co, some of which would be activated in a nuclear explosion to produce Co. The Co, dispersed as nuclear fallout, is sometimes called a cobalt bomb. Cobalt is essential to the metabolism of all animals. It is a key constituent of cobalamin, also known as vitamin