37 Cobalt Uses in Different Industries (Need To Know Facts)

by

Cobalt is a relatively rare magnetic element with properties similar to iron and nickel. Let us discuss the uses of cobalt in different fields.

The uses of cobalt in different fields are listed below –

  • Superalloys
  • Hardmetals
  • Magnets
  • Batteries
  • Catalyst
  • Pigments
  • Nuclear industry

The two valance states are cobaltous (II) and cobaltic (III) and the former is the most common valance used in the chemical industry. Cobalt occurs in nature primarily as arsenides, oxides, and sulfides. Let us discuss the uses of cobalt in the next part of the article.

Superalloys

  • Cobalt is added to nickel alloys to improve their high-temperature properties which have a relatively minor effect on solid-solution and making super alloys.
  • Cobalt alloy used to increase the hardening but reduce the solubility of aluminium and titanium in the alloy matrix at temperatures less than 1080°C.
  • Cobalt also increases carbon solubility in the alloy matrix, altering the grain-boundary carbides formed.
  • Cobalt-based superalloys are used for cutlery, machine tools, and hard-facing applications.
  • The cobalt–chromium–molybdenum casting alloy Vitallium was developed for prosthetic applications.
  • Cobalt-based alloys are useful for making turbine blades for gas turbines and aircraft jet engines.
  • Some high-speed steels contains cobalt for increased heat and wear resistance.
  • Cobalt with platinum alloy is used for jewelry making.

Hardmetals

  1. Co is used for the making of Stellite alloy which is a very hard metal.
  2. Co-based alloys have been used in applications that require high-temperature wear and/or corrosion resistance.
  3. The hard metal of cobalt has been used for cast and wrought components and hard-facing products, such as wire, covered electrodes, powders, etc.
  4. Co is used for making different types of hard metals of wear and corrosion like- the carbide type (Stellite 6), intermetallic type (Tribaloy T800), and solid-solution type (Stellite 21).
  5. Typical uses of hard metal cobalt are in automobile construction, oil drilling, and chemical processing.
  6. Co-based hard metals are also applied in wood cutting, pulp and paper, glass containers, power generation, aerospace, steelmaking, and plastics.
  7. Cobalt is used in electroplating for its attractive appearance, hardness, and oxidation resistance.

Magnets

  1. The special alloys of aluminium, nickel, cobalt, and iron, known as Alnico, and of samarium and cobalt (samarium-cobalt magnet) are used in permanent magnets.
  2. Cobalt is used to increase iron’s saturation density making it ideal as a soft magnet.
  3. Co-alloys such as Permendur are used in top-performance electrical magnets to transport magnetic flux with low losses.
  4. In advanced magnetic technology cobalt is applied in adhesives, electronic components, anodizing, moisture indicators, catalysts, electroplating solutions, and recording media.

Batteries

  • Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) is widely used in lithium-ion battery cathodes which are used in mobile devices and electric cars.
  • Cobalt is used in nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) to improve nickel oxidation.

Catalyst

  • The largest applications of cobalt catalyst is in the production of terephthalic acid (TPA) and diethyl terephthalate (DMT) for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
  • Cobalt carboxylate catalysts are used to improve the adhesion between steel and rubber in steel-belted radial tires.
  • Cobalt is used as a catalyst in the Fischer–Tropsch process for the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide into liquid fuels and cobalt octacarbonyl Hydroformylation of alkenes.
  • The hydrodesulfurization of petroleum uses a catalyst derived from cobalt and molybdenum.
  • Cobalt is used as a catalyst in paint dryers and radial tires in the form of cobalt carboxylates.
  • Cobalt catalyst is believed to increase the ‘cure rate’ of rubber and its cross-link density, forming a strong Co-S bond.

Pigments

  1. Co is used in paints, varnishes, and inks as “drying agents” through the oxidation of drying oils.
  2. Co has been used since the Middle Ages to make smalt, a blue-colored glass.
  3. Cobalt pigments such as cobalt blue (cobalt aluminate), cerulean blue (cobalt(II) stannate), cobalt green (a mixture of cobalt(II) oxide and zinc oxide), and cobalt violet (cobalt phosphate) are used as artist’s pigments because of their superior chromatic stability.

Nuclear industry

  1. Cobalt-60 (Co-60 or 60Co) is useful as a gamma-ray source because it can be produced high-activity neutrons.
  2. Cobalt is used in external beam radiotherapy, industrial radiography, density measurements, and tank fill height switches.
  3. Cobalt-57 (Co-57 or 57Co) is a cobalt radioisotope most often used as a radiolabel for vitamin B12 uptake, and the Schilling test.
  4. Cobalt-57 is used as a source in Mössbauer spectroscopy and is one of several possible sources in X-ray fluorescence devices.
Screenshot 2023 01 23 234414
Uses of Cobalt In Different Industry

Liquid cobalt uses

Liquid Cobalt is the molten state of the Co which is melted from the Cobalt by heating it to 1496.9°C. let us discuss the use of liquid cobalt.

The uses of liquid cobalt are very limited which are listed below –

  1. Liquid cobalt alloys are used for electroless plating to provide a metallic coating on a non-conducting material.
  2. The molten cobalt decreases the deficiency of Vitamin B12 in soil.

Soluble cobalt compounds account for considerable use of cobalt each year. Solutions of cobalt chemicals are used as feedstock for electroplating.

How Does Chromium Compare to Cobalt in Terms of Industrial Uses?

Chromium’s essential roles in various industries make it a versatile element. In terms of industrial uses, chromium offers outstanding resistance to corrosion and enhances the hardness of metals. It finds extensive application in manufacturing stainless steel, alloy production, and electroplating, while cobalt’s industrial uses mainly revolve around its magnetic properties in the production of magnets and high-performance alloys.

Cobalt sulphate uses

Cobalt(II) sulfate is an inorganic compound referred to as the hexa- or heptahydrates CoSO4.6H2O or CoSO4.7H2O, respectively. Let us discuss some uses of this compound.

The uses of cobalt(II) sulfate are listed below –

  1. Cobalt sulfates are important intermediates in the cobalt extraction process.
  2. Hydrated cobalt(II) sulfate is used in the preparation of pigments, as well as in the manufacture of other cobalt salts.
  3. Cobalt(II) sulfate is used in storage batteries and electroplating baths, sympathetic inks, and as an additive to soils.

Being commonly available commercially, the heptahydrate cobalt sulfate is a routine source of cobalt in coordination chemistry.

Cobalt chloride uses

CoCl2 has three forms, the anhydrous form is a blue crystalline solid, the dihydrate is purple and the hexahydrate is pink. Let us discuss the uses of CoCl2.

The uses of cobalt chloride are –

  1. It can be made to appear invisible on a surface which is used in the preparation of invisible ink.
  2. It is an established chemical inducer of hypoxia-like responses such as erythropoiesis and pulmonary arterial hypertension in animals for research.

Cobalt chloride is a common visual moisture indicator due to its distinct color change when hydrated. The color change is from some shade of blue when dry, to pink when hydrated, although the shade of color depends on the substrate and concentration.

Conclusion

Unlike such base metals as copper and nickel, which are mainly used in electrical applications and the manufacture of stainless steel, cobalt is used in a wide range of applications.