High Purity Argon Gas

Gas Introduction

Argon, with the chemical symbol Ar and atomic number 18, belongs to Group 18 of the periodic table and is classified as a rare gas. Argon accounts for 0.934% by volume of the atmosphere (9340 ppmv), ranking as the third most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere. Additionally, argon is the most abundant inert element in the Earth's crust, with a crustal content of 0.00015%.

Applications

It is mainly used for metal welding and cutting. For the welding and cutting of light metals, stainless steel and special alloy steels, argon arc welding with an argon shielding atmosphere is the most widely adopted method.

It is applied to semiconductor refining. Industrially, a mixed gas consisting of 5% hydrogen and 95% argon is commonly used as the protective atmosphere for silicon semiconductor refining.

It is also used in metal smelting. In the smelting of titanium, zirconium and other metals, reduction reactions need to be carried out under inert shielding atmospheres such as argon. Additionally, argon serves as a degassing agent in the smelting of special steels.

In plasma-related applications, mixed gas of argon and hydrogen can be used for magnetohydrodynamic power generation, as well as in electric light sources.

Argon derives its name from the Ancient Greek word argón, which means "lazy" or "inactive", a reference to its extremely low chemical reactivity. As the first discovered rare gas, its chemical properties greatly impressed those who named it.

In 1785, Henry Cavendish suspected that certain rare gaseous components existed within the atmosphere. In 1894, at University College London, John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, and William Ramsay first isolated argon from atmospheric air by removing oxygen, carbon dioxide, moisture and nitrogen from purified air samples.

They confirmed that nitrogen produced from chemical compounds was 0.5% lighter than atmospheric nitrogen. Though the difference was slight, it was significant enough to draw their prolonged attention. Finally, they concluded that another unknown gas was mixed with nitrogen in the air.

Argon was also discovered accidentally in 1882 through the research of H.F. Newall and Walter Noel Hartley. They detected a new emission spectrum that did not match any known elements at that time.

Before 1957, the chemical symbol of argon was designated as "A". It was later revised to "Ar", which has remained in use to the present day.

Hot Tags: high purity argon gas, China high purity argon gas manufacturers, factory