ABSTRACT: Copper is a member of the group 1B of the 4th cycle of the periodic table, the most important heavy Non-ferrous metal. ELEMENT SYMBOL CU, atomic number 29, relative atomic mass 63.546. Copper is solid at room temperature, the new section is purple red, easy to oxidation heating. Copper has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance, low deformation resistance, can withstand high cold deformation without cracking, is an important Non-ferrous metal material, mainly used in electronic, electrical, mechanical, construction and transportation and other industrial sectors. There are hundreds of copper compounds, but on an industrial scale there are many chemical books, the most important of which is copper sulfate Pentahydrate, or cuso45h2o, next are Bordeaux liquid (Cu (OH)2 cuso4) , copper arsenite (Cu (Aso2)2) , copper acetate [ Cu (CH3COO)2] complex, Copper(I) cyanide, copper chloride (CuCl2) , Cuprous oxide, copper oxide (Cuo) , basic copper carbonate and copper naphthenate. Copper salt can be used as an agricultural fungicide. Cupric sulfate can be used as an emetic and a local antidote for yellow phosphorus burns.

Copper is in the fourth cycle of the periodic table, the Group B element, the most important heavy Non-ferrous metal. ELEMENT SYMBOL CU, atomic number 29, relative atomic mass 63.546. Copper is solid at room temperature, the new section is purple red, easy to oxidation heating. Copper has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance, low deformation resistance, can withstand high cold deformation without cracking, is an important Non-ferrous metal material, mainly used in electronic, electrical, mechanical, construction and transportation and other industrial sectors. There are hundreds of copper compounds, but on an industrial scale there are many chemical books, the most important of which is copper sulfate Pentahydrate, or cuso45h2o, next are Bordeaux liquid (Cu (OH)2 cuso4) , copper arsenite (Cu (Aso2)2) , copper acetate [ Cu (CH3COO)2] complex, Copper(I) cyanide, copper chloride (CuCl2) , Cuprous oxide, copper oxide (Cuo) , basic copper carbonate and copper naphthenate. Copper salt can be used as an agricultural fungicide. Cupric sulfate can be used as an emetic and a local antidote for yellow phosphorus burns.

Copper is one of the earliest metals found and used by mankind. About 10,000 years ago, people have known natural copper and hammered it into small cones or nails. Until now, the earliest bronzes made by human beings were found to be scrapers, chisels and awls unearthed in Tepehaiya, Iran, dating to about 3800 BC. The discovery of a tin bronze knife in 1978 in the Chemicalbook site of the Majiayao type in Dongxiang, Gansu Province, is the earliest bronze device ever found in China, dating from about 2750 BC, indicating that China was one of the first countries in the world to use bronze. As early as 770 BC, China mastered the shaft furnace copper smelting technology, Song Yuan Feng year (1078) copper output reached 7300t, copper metallurgical technology has reached a considerable level.

Physical Properties copper is the second best conductor of electricity and heat after silver. The conductivity and thermal conductivity of copper at room temperature are 94% and 73.2% of that of silver, respectively. The outer electron shell of the copper atom is (Ar)3d104s1. Copper can lose 1 electron of 4S orbital and 1 electron of 3D orbital when it forms compound, so copper has two valence states of + 1 and + 2. The oxidation state of copper is dominated by + 2 Valence at room temperature, while the low valence state is stable at high temperature. Copper has a stable isotope of 63Cu and 65Cu, 29 protons and 34 neutrons in 63Cu and 29 protons and 36 neutrons in 65Cu. Copper is known to have nine unstable isotopes. Copper is stable in dry air at room temperature, but when placed in humid air containing CO2 for a long period of time, it forms a green alkaline copper carbonate, commonly known as Verdigris. The electrochemical equivalent of 2-valent copper is 0.329 MG/C. Copper does not displace hydrogen in Acidic aqueous solutions, is insoluble in hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid without dissolved oxygen, but is soluble in oxidizing nitric acid. Copper reacts slowly with Alkaline Solution, but easily reacts with ammonia to form a complex. Copper is soluble in organic acids such as acetic acid. Soluble copper salts are generally toxic. Copper has a cubic crystal system crystal structure. Pure copper has a very good ductility, can be processed into very thin wire and very thin sheet. Copper is also an excellent conductor of electricity and heat, its conductivity and thermal conductivity in the metal next to silver. The existence of trace impurities will make copper conductivity greatly reduced.

The main uses of copper due to its many excellent properties, in various industrial sectors have been widely used. Until the 1960s, copper was second only to iron in importance and consumption. Only in the 1960s did it give way to the more resource-rich, cheaper form of aluminium. China’s copper consumption in the late 1980s is shown in table 2. Worldwide, more than half of copper production is used in the power and electronics industries, such as the manufacture of cables, wires, motors and other transmission and telecommunications equipment. After the 1980s, some of copper’s telecommunications uses were replaced by optical fiber. Copper is also an important material in the defense industry. Copper is widely used in electric industry because of its good conductivity. Pure copper (above 99.95%) is needed to manufacture wire and cable. Copper and zinc, tin, aluminum, nickel, beryllium and other important alloy formation.Brass (copper zinc alloy) , bronze (Copper Tin Alloy) used in the manufacture of bearings, Pistons, switches, tubing, heat exchangers and so on. Aluminum Bronze (cu-al alloy) is very resistant to vibration and can be used to make castings requiring strength and toughness. Monel, known as a corrosion resistant Chemicalbook, is used in the manufacture of valves, pumps, and high pressure steam equipment. Cupronickel is a copper-nickel Alloy with good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, used in precision machinery manufacturing. Beryllium bronze (containing beryllium copper alloy) is widely used in the manufacture of various mechanical parts, tools and radio equipment. Copper compounds are important raw materials for pesticides, fungicides, pigments, electroplating, primary batteries, dyes and catalysts. Because of its high purity and no hydrogen embrittlement, oxygen-free copper is used in waveguide, vacuum tube and transistor components, glass and metal sealing, coaxial cable and superconducting magnetic winding. Bendable copper is used to make copper buses, contactors, various types of conductors, radar components, switches, contacts, etc. . The two kinds of copper treated with silver are used to make anti-softening devices, such as windings of transformers, generators and large synchronous generators. It is mainly used to make tubes for refrigerators and air conditioners, rectifiers and water or gas pipes, etc. (when electrical and thermal conductivity and soldering or brazing properties are required) . Free-cutting copper is mainly used in the manufacture of threaded products and other welding nozzles, fixtures, terminals and switch components. 

Source: Changjiang non-ferrous metal net