Scandium, properties

It turned out that the dodecylsulfate surfactants Co(DS)i Ni(DS)2, Cu(DS)2 and Zn(DS)2 containing catalytically active counterions are extremely potent catalysts for the Diels-Alder reaction between 5.1 and 5.2 (see Scheme 5.1). The physical properties of these micelles have been described in the literature and a small number of catalytic studies have been reported. The influence of Cu(DS)2 micelles on the kinetics of quenching of a photoexcited species has been investigated. Interestingly, Kobayashi recently employed surfactants in scandium triflate catalysed aldol reactions". Robinson et al. have demonshuted that the interaction between metal ions and ligand at the surface of dodecylsulfate micelles can be extremely efficient. ... 

Gallium [7440-55-3] atomic number 31, was discovered through a study of its spectral properties in 1875 by P. E. Lecoq de Boisbaudran and named from Gallia in honor of its discoverer s homeland. The first element to be discovered after the pubHcation of Mendeleev s Periodic Table, its discovery constituted a confirmation of the Table which was reinforced shordy after by the discoveries of scandium and germanium. 

The person whose name is most closely associated with the periodic table is Dmitri Mendeleev (1836-1907), a Russian chemist. In writing a textbook of general chemistry, Mendeleev devoted separate chapters to families of elements with similar properties, including the alkali metals, the alkaline earth metals, and the halogens. Reflecting on the properties of these and other elements, he proposed in 1869 a primitive version of today s periodic table. Mendeleev shrewdly left empty spaces in his table for new elements yet to be discovered. Indeed, he predicted detailed properties for three such elements (scandium, gallium, and germanium). By 1886 all of these elements had been discovered and found to have properties very similar to those he had predicted. 

Table 16.1 summarizes the physical properties of the elements from scandium through nickel. Notice the similarities in their melting and boiling points, but the gradual increase in density. 

Titanium, Ti, a light, strong metal, is used where these properties are critical— in widely diverse applications such as jet engines and dental fixtures such as partial plates. Although titanium is relatively reactive, unlike scandium it is resistant to corrosion because it is passivated by a protective skin of oxide on its surface. The principal sources of the metal are the ores ilmenite, FeTiO , and rutile, Ti02. 

TABLE 16.1 Properties of the d-Block Elements Scandium Through Nickel... 

The transition elements comprise groups 3 to 12 and are found in the central region of the standard periodic table, an example of which is reproduced on the endpaper. This group is further subdivided into those of the first row (the elements scandium to zinc), the second row (the elements yttrium to cadmium) and the third row (the elements lanthanum to mercury). The term transition arises from the elements supposed transitional positions between the metallic elements of groups 1 and 2 and the predominantly non-metallic elements of groups 13 to 18. Nevertheless, the transition elements are also, and interchangeably, known as the transition metals in view of their typical metallic properties. 

A. R. Bugos, S. W. Allison, and M. R. Cates, Laser-induced fluorescent properties of europium-doped scandium orthophosphate phosphors for high-temperature sensing applications, Proc. of IEEE 1991 Southeast Conf, 1143-1147 (1991). 

Scandium - the atomic number is 21 and the chemical symbol is Sc. The name derives from the Latin scandia for Scandinavia , where the mineral were found. It was discovered by the Swedish chemist Lars-Fredrik Nilson in 1879 from an ytterbium sample. In the same year, the Swedish chemist Per Theodore Cleve proved that scandium was Mendeleev s hypothetical element eka-boron , whose properties and position in the Period Table Mendeleev had previously predicted. 

Scandium is a soft, lightweight, silvery-white metal that does not tarnish in air, but over time, it turns yellowish-pink. It resists corrosion. Scandium reacts vigorously with acids, but not water. Scandium has some properties similar to the rare-earth elements. Although its position in group 3 places it at the head of the 17 elements of the lanthanide series of rare-earth metals, scandium, as a metal, is not usually considered a rare-earth. Scandiums melting point is l,54l°C, its boiling point is 2836°C, and its density is 2.989 glctn . 

The discovery of gallium was followed by the discovery of scandium (Mendeleev s eka-boron) in 1879 and of germanium (eka-sili-con) in 1886. The new elements had the approximate atomic weights and properties that Mendeleev had predicted. The scientific world was astonished. It is probably safe to say that before Mendeleev s predictions were confirmed, no chemist would have believed that the properties of unknown elements could be predicted with such accuracy. 

The chemical properties of yttrium are more similar to those of rare earths than to scandium. However, unlike the rare earths, yttrium exhibits only one valence state, -i-3. 

Three of the undiscovered elements whose properties Mendeleev foretold in great detail, ekaaluminum, ekaboron, and ekasilicon, were discovered within fifteen years from the time of their prediction. The first was found by Lecoq de Boisbaudran m France, the second by Lars Frednk Nilson in Sweden, and the third by Clemens Winkler in Germany. These elements were named gallium, scandium, and germanium in honor of these countries. 

---