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Vanadium Foil (Light Tight)
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Thickness | Sides | Temper ⓘ | Surface Finish | Other Variant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.001 mm (foil) to 3.15 mm (sheet) | 3 mm to 500 mm | As Rolled | Polished on both sides | Non Light Tested |
Need custom configurations? Please contact us.
Key Features
Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) at 99.8% purity is a pinhole-free vanadium foil that combines complete optical opacity with the distinctive functional properties that make vanadium a material of genuine research interest — principally its exceptional hydrogen diffusivity and its superconducting behavior below 5.4 K:
Pinhole-Free Optical Barrier That Also Functions as a Hydrogen-Permeable Membrane
Unlike functionally passive light-tight foils in stainless or aluminum, Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) brings its own hydrogen transport behavior into the experimental system — enabling applications where a metallic barrier must simultaneously exclude light and act as a hydrogen-permeable membrane, such as hydrogen isotope separation cells requiring optical isolation of the measurement environment.
Exceptionally High Hydrogen Diffusivity Through the Light-Tight Barrier
Vanadium's exceptionally high hydrogen diffusivity — among the highest of any metallic element — is retained in the light-tight foil format, making it suitable as both an optical isolator and an active hydrogen transport element in experimental systems where hydrogen permeation, isotope selectivity, or tritium transport must be studied while the measurement environment is kept photon-free.
Elemental Superconductor Below 5.4 K for Cryogenic Light-Tight Enclosures
Vanadium's superconducting transition at 5.4 K makes Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) a functional cryogenic element as well as an optical barrier — supporting light-tight enclosures for photosensitive cryogenic detectors in low-temperature physics apparatus where the enclosure foil transitions to superconducting behavior at the operating temperature of the instrument.
Ductile & Integrable into Membrane Cell Assemblies and Cryogenic Instrument Enclosures
Vanadium's ductility at room temperature makes Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) practical to form, seal, and integrate into membrane cell assemblies and cryogenic instrument enclosures — combining the light-tight barrier construction with the mechanical workability required for assembly into precision experimental apparatus.
Important Practical Note: Oxidation Above ~600 °C in Air
Vanadium is sensitive to oxidation above approximately 600 °C in air. Elevated-temperature use of Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) requires inert or vacuum conditions — an experimental design constraint that applies equally to hydrogen permeation membrane operation under thermal load and to any high-temperature cryogenic apparatus assembly step conducted in air.
Industrial Applications
Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) is a niche but well-defined material for research applications where an optical barrier must also function as an active hydrogen transport membrane, a cryogenic structural element with superconducting character, or a substrate whose vanadium surface chemistry participates in the experimental system:
- ✦ Hydrogen Isotope Separation Cells Requiring Simultaneous Light Exclusion
- The defining application for Vanadium Foil (Light Tight): hydrogen isotope separation cells in fusion energy and isotope recovery research where vanadium's exceptionally high hydrogen diffusivity is exploited for membrane separation while simultaneous optical isolation of the measurement environment is required — an application where no other light-tight foil material provides equivalent hydrogen permeation performance (elevated-temperature membrane operation requires inert or vacuum atmosphere).
- ✦ Light-Tight Enclosures for Photosensitive Cryogenic Detectors
- Used as light-tight enclosure foil for photosensitive cryogenic detectors in low-temperature physics apparatus, where Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) provides complete optical isolation of the detector environment while its superconducting transition at 5.4 K means the enclosure foil itself becomes superconducting at the operating temperature of the instrument — a combination unavailable in any other common light-tight foil material.
- ✦ Functional Membrane Substrates in Energy Research Requiring Optical Isolation
- Employed as functional membrane substrates in energy research applications where optical isolation of the measurement environment is required alongside hydrogen permeation — including tritium transport studies, hydrogen storage membrane evaluation, and vanadium alloy membrane development work where the optical and transport properties of the barrier must work together as an integrated experimental element.
- ✦ Thin-Film Studies Where the Vanadium Substrate Participates in the Experimental System
- Used in thin-film deposition and surface science studies where a light-tight substrate is required and the vanadium surface's own hydrogen interaction behavior, catalytic activity, or superconducting character are part of the experimental design — distinguishing Vanadium Foil (Light Tight) from functionally passive stainless or aluminum light-tight foil substrates where the base material plays no active experimental role.
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 23 |
| Crystal structure | Body centred cubic |
| Electronic structure | Ar 3d³ 4s² |
| Valences shown | 2,3,4,5 |
| Atomic weight( amu ) | 50.9415 |
| Thermal neutron absorption cross-section( Barns ) | 5.06 |
| Photo-electric work function( eV ) | 4.3 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 51/ 99.75 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 50/ 0.25 |
| Atomic radius - Goldschmidt( nm ) | 0.136 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 3/ 29.3 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 2/ 14.6 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 5/ 65.2 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 6/ 128 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 1/ 6.74 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 4/ 46.7 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Material condition | Hard |
| Material condition | Soft |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.365 |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.365 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 158 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 158 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 127.6 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 127.6 |
| Izod toughness( J m⁻¹ ) | 10-136 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 80 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 150 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 260-585 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 530-730 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 170-450 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 515-690 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical resistivity( µOhmcm ) | 19.6@20°C |
| Superconductivity critical temperature( K ) | 5.4 |
| Temperature coefficient( K⁻¹ ) | 0.0039@0-100°C |
| Thermal emf against Pt (cold 0C - hot 100C)( mV ) | 0.63 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Boiling point( C ) | 3380 |
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 6.1@20°C |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 1890 |
| Latent heat of evaporation( J g⁻¹ ) | 8975 |
| Latent heat of fusion( J g⁻¹ ) | 345 |
| Specific heat( J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹ ) | 486@25°C |
| Thermal conductivity( W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ ) | 30.7@0-100°C |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion( x10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ ) | 8.3@0-100°C |
Tolerances
| Thickness | <0.01mm | ±25% |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 0.01mm - 0.05mm | ±15% |
| Thickness | >0.05mm | ±10% |
| Linear dimension | <100mm | ±1mm |
| Linear dimension | >=100mm | +2 / -1% |