Vanadium is a soft and ductile, silver-grey metal. It has good resistance to corrosion by alkalis, sulfuric and hydrochloric acid. It oxidizes readily at about 933 K (660 C). Vanadium has good structural strength and a low fission neutron cross section, making it useful in nuclear applications. Although a metal, it shares with chromium and manganese the property of having valency oxides with acid properties.
Common oxidation states of vanadium include +2, +3, +4 and +5. A popular experiment with ammonium vanadate NH4VO3, reducing the compound with zinc metal, can demonstrate colorimetrically all four of these vanadium oxidation states. An oxidation state of +1 is rarely seen.
