Cerium thermal properties

Studies on the thermal properties of lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, and gadolinium hexaborides in the cryogenic region from 5° to 350°K. 193) have shown the presence of two types of anomalies in the latter three substances. At temperatures near 10 °K. there appears a lambda-type anomaly in each which is rather characteristic of a magnetic transformation. At slightly higher temperatures this is followed by Schottky-... 

Antimony may be added to copper-base alloys such as naval brass. Admiralty Metal, and leaded Muntz metal in amounts of 0.02—0.10% to prevent dezincification. Additions of antimony to ductile iron in an amount of 50 ppm, preferably with some cerium, can make the graphite fliUy nodular to the center of thick castings and when added to gray cast iron in the amount of 0.05%, antimony acts as a powerflil carbide stabilizer with an improvement in both the wear resistance and thermal cycling properties (26) (see Carbides). 

Uses. In spite of unique properties, there are few commercial appUcations for monolithic shapes of borides. They are used for resistance-heated boats (with boron nitride), for aluminum evaporation, and for sliding electrical contacts. There are a number of potential uses ia the control and handling of molten metals and slags where corrosion and erosion resistance are important. Titanium diboride and zirconium diboride are potential cathodes for the aluminum Hall cells (see Aluminum and aluminum alloys). Lanthanum hexaboride and cerium hexaboride are particularly useful as cathodes ia electronic devices because of their high thermal emissivities, low work functions, and resistance to poisoning. 

The rare earth oxides have a number of distinguishing properties important in catalytic applications. The oxides are basic O) compared to alumina, lanthanum oxide (La203) being the most basic. The oxides also have good thermal stability, a valuable characteristic in most industrial applications. Some rare earths including cerium, praseodymium, and terbium form non-stoichiomet-ric oxides ( ), an important property shared by many good oxidation catalysts. These mixed valence state compounds are typically polymorphic. 

The unique properties of lanthanide-based materials, e.g., lanthanide-silicates and lanthanide-doped silicas, can be related to the special properties of the 4f" orbitals. Among lanthanide oxides, only Ce, Pr and Tb form dioxides, which crystallize in one simple structure with M4+ ions showing octahedral coordination [17]. For instance, cerium dioxide exhibits an 8 4 catiomanion coordination [18]. Its characteristic feature is the ability to undergo oxidation-reduction cycles in a reversible way [19], It was shown that the presence of Ce and La additives in mesoporous silicas, e.g., MCM-41 [10,11] and MSU-X [12], improves their thermal and hydrothermal stability. 

Two different cerium oxide promoted zirconias were prepared and tested as supports for Pd catalysts for the catalytic oxidation of methane, alone and in presence of a strong catalyst poison (SO2). The introduction of cerium oxide was carried out by incipient wetness of zirconium hydroxide or zirconium oxide, followed by calcination. Both catalysts present very different properties, the first method producing a catalyst with better performance, and thermal stability markedly higher than the unmodified zirconia support. However, the addition of cerium does not lead to any enhancement of the catalyst performance in presence ofSC>2,... 

On the other hand, cerium has been shown to be an effective oxygen reservoir, enhancing the activity of many oxidation catalysts. Due to this property, cerium oxide is also considered to potentially enhance the thioresistance of the catatysts. This aspect is of great practical importance, since the use of palladium catalysts is hindered by the poisonous effect of sulphur compoimds, often present in off gases. Most works dealing with ceria-zirconia catalysts have been carried out with catalysts prepared by coprecipitation methods, whereas in this work an ahemative procedure, based on the incipient wetness technique is used to incorporate ceria to the zirconia support. The aim is to maintain the advantages of zirconia supports, especially the thermal stability. 

Tm). The high thermal neutron absorption cross-sections and high melting points of various lanthanides (Sm, Eu, Dy, Gd) are two properties that make them ideal for use in nuclear reactor control rod applications. Cerium dioxide has been developed into a sunscreen that has higher transparency and higher ultraviolet blocking proper-... 

Polyurethane-polyp50 role (PU-PPy) composite nanofibers obtained by using electrospinning were reported. In this study, Py monomer was polymerized in PU matrix by cerium(IV) [ceric ammonium nitrate Ce(IV)] as an oxidant (Fig. 8.8). The effects of the PPy content on the thermal, mechanical, dielectric, and morphological properties of the composites were investigated with different... 

Some lanthaitide ions have also well-known catalytic properties. For instance, the Sm(II) ion is extensively used in asymmetric catalysis (lananaga et al., 2002) and cerium and praseodymium, thanks to their 111/IV valences, are used in many depollution processes ( Catalysis by Ceria and Related Materials , 2002). This second class of application seems to be very promising as far as coordination polymers are concerned. The prerequisites for these applications are clearly a high thermal stability, a porous network and a chemical availability of the lanthaitide ions. 

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