Chemistry of rare-earth metals

The lanthanides (Ln) include lanthanum (La) and the following fourteen elements—Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu— in which the 4f orbitals are progressively filled. These fifteen elements together with scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y) are termed the rare-earth metals. The designation of rare earths arises from the fact that these elements were first found in rare minerals and were isolated as oxides (called earths in the early literature). In fact, their occurrence in nature is quite abundant, especially in China, as reserves have been estimated to exceed 84 x 106 tons. In a broader sense, even the actinides (the 5f elements) are sometimes included in the rare-earth family. 

The rare-earth metals are of rapidly growing importance, and their availability at quite inexpensive prices facilitates their use in chemistry and other applications. Much recent progress has been achieved in the coordination chemistry of rare-earth metals, in the use of lanthanide-based reagents or catalysts, and in the preparation and study of new materials. Some of the important properties of rare-earth metals are summarized in Table 18.1.1. In this table, tm is the atomic radius in the metallic state and rM3+ is the radius of the lanthanide(III) ion in an eight-coordinate environment. 

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This chapter summarized recent advances in the reduction chemistry of rare earth metals and described our own efforts in synthesizing inverse sandwiches of rare earth arene complexes using ferrocene-based diamide ligands. Unprecedented molecules were synthesized and their unusual electronic structures were studied. Highlights included the synthesis of the first scandium naphthalene complex and its reactivity toward P4 activation and the isolation and characterization of a 6-carbon, lOTi-electron aromatic system stabilized by coordination to rare earth metals. The reactivity of those complexes was also discussed. 

Metals with a d f" configuration, group 3 metals, lanthanides, and actinides, are usually classified as f-elements. Because they are highly electropositive, they form polarized bonds with p-block elements, including carbon and nitrogen. So far, two reaction mechanisms have been established for d f metals cr-bond metathesis, a 2o—2o process, and 1,2-addition, a [2ct—2jt] process (2cr stands for the two electrons involved in the transition state that come from a tr bond and 2jt indicates the two electrons involved in the transition state that come from a Jt bond) (Scheme 1). " Oxidative addition, another type of reaction mecharusm that is common for late transition metals, is absent from the chemistry of rare-earth metals or actinides. This is partly because of the lack of valence electrons, i.e., a d electronic configuration however, even for uranium, which has multiple accessible oxidation states, no genuine oxidative addition reactivity has been reported. The subject of C—H bond activation mediated by f-elements has been dis-cussed by several recent reviews. ... 

The chemistry of rare earth metals, compounds, and corrosion inhibitors... 

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