Cobalt Metal Cathode

About

A brittle, hard metal, resembling iron and nickel in appearance, cobalt has a magnetic permeability approximately two thirds that of iron. It is frequently obtained as a by product of nickel, silver, lead, copper, and iron ores and is present in meteorites.
Cobalt is frequently alloyed with different metals because of its surprising attractive quality and is utilized in electroplating on account of its appearance, hardness and protection from oxidation.

Sources

Of current generation sources, around 64% of cobalt creation is copper related, 33% is nickel related and just 3% is delivered by essential cobalt activities. The fundamental stores are found in the southern piece of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a territory which right now holds near portion of the world's cobalt saves. Australia, Cuba, Zambia, New Caledonia, Canada, Russia and Brazil hold a great part of the parity of worldwide cobalt saves

Applications

Cobalt is primarily used in the preparation of magnetic, wear-resistant and high-strength alloys. The compounds, cobalt silicate and cobalt(II) aluminate (CoAl2O4, cobalt blue) give a distinctive deep blue color to glass, ceramics, inks, paints and varnishes. Cobalt occurs naturally as only one stable isotope, cobalt-59. Cobalt-60 is a commercially important radioisotope, used as a radioactive tracer and to produce high energy gamma rays.
Other uses include:

• Batteries - Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) is widely used in lithium ion battery cathodes
• Catalysts - Several cobalt compounds are used in chemical reactions as oxidation catalysts
• Pigment and colouring
• Radioisotopes - Cobalt-60 (Co-60 or 60Co) is useful as a gamma ray source because it can be produced in predictable quantity and high activity by bombarding cobalt with neutrons
• Electroplating - Cobalt is used in electroplating for its attractive appearance, hardness, resistance to oxidation
• Paint primer -  Super alloys made of cobalt have improved strength and wear & corrosion-resistance characteristics at elevated temperatures

Substitutes

In some applications, substitution for cobalt would result in a loss in product performance. Potential substitutes include neodymium-iron-boron, or nickel-iron alloys in magnets Cerium, iron, lead, manganese, or vanadium in paints Copper-iron-manganese for curing unsaturated polyester resins; iron, iron-cobalt-nickel, nickel, cermets, or ceramics in cutting and wear resistant materials; iron-phosphorous, manganese, nickel-cobalt-aluminum, or nickel-cobalt-manganese in lithium-ion batteries; nickel-based alloys or ceramics in jet engines; nickel in petroleum catalysts; and rhodium in hydroformylation catalysts.