Lanthanum amalgam

Applications of controlled-potential techniques to the analysis of the rare earths are meagre indeed, probably because of the relative inaccessibility and close spacing of reduction potentials for these elements. Even in 0.01 M hydrochloric acid solutions, lanthanum amalgams are formed at mercury cathodes held at a potential of — 1.2 V vs. SCE with only 0.1 per cent current efficiency (192). Polarographic information (193) suggests, however, that certain... 

Individually indexed alloys or intermetallic compounds are Aluminium amalgam, 0051 Aluminium-copper-zinc alloy, 0050 Aluminium-lanthanum-nickel alloy, 0080 Aluminium-lithium alloy, 0052 Aluminium-magnesium alloy, 0053 Aluminium-nickel alloys, 0055 Aluminium-titanium alloys, 0056 Copper-zinc alloys, 4268 Ferromanganese, 4389 Ferrotitanium, 4391 Lanthanum-nickel alloy, 4678 Lead-tin alloys, 4883 Lead-zirconium alloys, 4884 Lithium-magnesium alloy, 4681 Lithium-tin alloys, 4682 Plutonium bismuthide, 0231 Potassium antimonide, 4673 Potassium-sodium alloy, 4646 Silicon-zirconium alloys, 4910... 

The monazite sand is heated with sulfuric acid at about 120 to 170°C. An exothermic reaction ensues raising the temperature to above 200°C. Samarium and other rare earths are converted to their water-soluble sulfates. The residue is extracted with water and the solution is treated with sodium pyrophosphate to precipitate thorium. After removing thorium, the solution is treated with sodium sulfate to precipitate rare earths as their double sulfates, that is, rare earth sulfates-sodium sulfate. The double sulfates are heated with sodium hydroxide to convert them into rare earth hydroxides. The hydroxides are treated with hydrochloric or nitric acid to solubihze all rare earths except cerium. The insoluble cerium(IV) hydroxide is filtered. Lanthanum and other rare earths are then separated by fractional crystallization after converting them to double salts with ammonium or magnesium nitrate. The samarium—europium fraction is converted to acetates and reduced with sodium amalgam to low valence states. The reduced metals are extracted with dilute acid. As mentioned above, this fractional crystallization process is very tedious, time-consuming, and currently rare earths are separated by relatively easier methods based on ion exchange and solvent extraction. 

The principal sources of ytterbium are euxenite, gadolinite, monazite, and xenotime. the latter being the most important. Ytterbium is separated from a mixture of yttrium and the heavy Lanthanides by using the sodium amalgam reduction technique. Ytterbium metal is obtained by heating a mixture of lanthanum metal and ytterbium oxide under high vacuum. The ytterbium sublimes and is collected on condenser plates whereas the lanthanum is oxidized to the sesquioxide. 

Cement, laboratory, 1 189 Cerite, extraction of, 2 44 Cerium, phosphor containing strontium sulfide and, 3 23 separation of, from rare earth mixtures, 2 43, 47, 48 test for, 2 50 Cerium amalgam, 1 15 Cerium-group earths, separation of, from yttrium earths by doublesulfate method, 2 44, 46 Cerium (III) magnesium nitrate, 2Ce(N03)s-3Mg(N03)2-24H,0, separation of praseodymium from lanthanum by, 2 57 Cerium(III) nitrate, 2 51 Cerium (IV) nitrate, basic, 2 49 Cesium, cesium azide for preparation of, 1 79... 

The preparation of amalgams of lanthanum, neodymium, and cerium by electrolysis of the anhydrous chlorides in alcoholic solution has already been described. The electrolysis of a rare earth chloride in water solution proves unsatisfactory because of the production of a precipitate of hydrous oxide at the cathode and the liberation of chlorine at the anode. 

---