Lanthanide element ions

The most important minerals of the lanthanide elements are monazite (phosphates of La, Ce, Pr, Nd and Sm, as well as thorium oxide) plus cerite and gadolinite (silicates of these elements). Separation is difficult because of the chemical similarity of the lanthanides. Fractional crystallization, complex formation, and selective adsorption and elution using an ion exchange resin (chromatography) are the most successful methods. 

Table 1—Oxidation states, electronic configurations, and radii of the (III) ion of the lanthanide elements and yttrium...

Different results were reported by Sasaki et al. [67], They studied the electrical conductivity and polarization performance of Ln, xSrxMn03 (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd) and found that the influence of the lanthanide ions at the A-site on the electrical conductivity and electrocatalytic activity is not significant. For example, the electrical conductivity was -200 Scm-1 at 1000°C for all Ln07Sr03MnO3 and the polarization performance showed no significant dependence on the kind of lanthanide elements. 

Hunt s group (50, 51) have pioneered the application of the Cl source to organometallics such as the iron tricarbonyl complex of heptafulvene, whose electron impact spectrum shows (M—CO)+ as the heaviest ion, in contrast to the methane Cl spectrum with the ion as base peak. Boron hydrides (52) and borazine (53) have also been studied. The methane Cl spectrum of arenechromium and -molybdenum (54) show protonation at the metal giving a protonated parent or molecular ion. Risby et al. have studied the isobutane Cl mass spectra of lanthanide 2,2,6,6-tetramethylheptane-3,5-dionates[Ln(thd)3] (55) and 1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoro-7,7-dimethyl-4,6-oetanedione [H(fod)] lanthanide complexes (56). These latter complexes have been suggested as a means of analysis for the lanthanide elements. 

Americium may be separated from other elements, particularly from the lanthanides or other actinide elements, by techniques involving oxidation, ion exchange and solvent extraction. One oxidation method involves precipitation of the metal in its trivalent state as oxalate (controlled precipitation). Alternatively, it may be separated by precipitating out lanthanide elements as fluorosilicates leaving americium in the solution. Americium may also he oxidized from trivalent to pentavalent state by hypochlorite in potassium carbonate solution. The product potassium americium (V) carbonate precipitates out. Curium and rare earth metals remain in the solution. An alternative approach is to oxidize Am3+ to Am022+ in dilute acid using peroxydisulfate. Am02 is soluble in fluoride solution, while trivalent curium and lanthanides are insoluble. 

Ion exchange techniques have been widely applied in the separation process. In the large-scale ammonium thiocyanate process, the metal is retained on strong base anion exchanger thus, separating it from the lighter lanthanide elements which are not strongly absorbed on the resin. 

Holmium is obtained from monazite, bastnasite and other rare-earth minerals as a by-product during recovery of dysprosium, thulium and other rare-earth metals. The recovery steps in production of all lanthanide elements are very similar. These involve breaking up ores by treatment with hot concentrated sulfuric acid or by caustic fusion separation of rare-earths by ion-exchange processes conversion to halide salts and reduction of the hahde(s) to metal (See Dysprosium, Gadolinium and Erbium). 

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