Manganese and Iron - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of manganese and iron, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Manganese vs Iron.

manganese and iron - comparison

Compare manganese with another element

Compare iron with another element

Manganese and Iron – About Elements

Manganese

Manganese is a metal with important industrial metal alloy uses, particularly in stainless steels.

Iron

Iron is a metal in the first transition series. It is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth’s outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth’s crust. Its abundance in rocky planets like Earth is due to its abundant production by fusion in high-mass stars.

Manganese in Periodic Table

Iron in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Manganese and Iron – Applications

Manganese

Manganese is an important alloying agent. Almost 90% of the manganese produced annually is used in the production of steel. In steels, manganese improves the rolling and forging qualities, as well as strength, toughness, stiffness, wear resistance, hardness and hardenability. The second largest application for manganese is in aluminium alloys. Aluminium with roughly 1.5% manganese has increased resistance to corrosion through grains that absorb impurities which would lead to galvanic corrosion. Manganese can be formed into many useful compounds. For example, manganese oxide, which can be used in fertilizers and ceramics.

Iron

Iron is used in numerous sectors such as electronics, manufacturing, automotive, and construction and building. Iron is the most widely used of all the metals, accounting for over 90% of worldwide metal produc0tion. Its low cost and high strength often make it the material of choice material to withstand stress or transmit forces, such as the construction of machinery and machine tools, rails, automobiles, ship hulls, concrete reinforcing bars, and the load-carrying framework of buildings. Since pure iron is quite soft, it is most commonly combined with alloying elements to make steel. Steels are iron–carbon alloys that may contain appreciable concentrations of other alloying elements. Adding a small amount of non-metallic carbon to iron trades its great ductility for the greater strength. Due to its very-high strength, but still substantial toughness, and its ability to be greatly altered by heat treatment, steel is one of the most useful and common ferrous alloy in modern use. There are thousands of alloys that have different compositions and/or heat treatments. The mechanical properties are sensitive to the content of carbon, which is normally less than 1.0 wt%.

Manganese and Iron – Comparison in Table

Element	Manganese	Iron
Density	7.47 g/cm3	7.874 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	650 MPa	540 MPa
Yield Strength	230 MPa	50 MPa
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	198 GPa	211 GPa
Mohs Scale	6	4.5
Brinell Hardness	200 MPa	490 MPa
Vickers Hardness	N/A	608 MPa
Melting Point	1246 °C	1538 °C
Boiling Point	2061 °C	2861 °C
Thermal Conductivity	7.82 W/mK	80.2 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	21.7 µm/mK	11.8 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.48 J/g K	0.44 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	12.05 kJ/mol	13.8 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	266 kJ/mol	349.6 kJ/mol