H' at. wt. (natural) 1.007967
at. wt. (H') 1.007822
at. no. 1
m.p. - 259.140C
b.p. - 252.870C
density 0.08988 gm./l
density (liquid) 70.8 gm/i. (-2530C)
density (solid) 7016 gm/i. (-2620C)
valence 1.
Electronic configuration
| K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| s |
s p |
s p d |
s p d f |
s p d f |
s p d f |
s p d f |
| 1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
DYSPROSIUM (Gr. dysprositos, hard to get at), Dy; at.
wt. 162.50; at. no.66; m.p. 14090C; h.p. 23350C; sp. gr. 8.540
(25~C); valence 3. Dysprosium was discovered in 1886 by
THE ELEMENlS~Continued)
Lecoq de Boisbaudran, but not isolated. Neither the oxide
nor the metal was available in relatively pure form until the
development of ion-exchange separation and metallographic
reduction techniques by Spedding and associates about 1950.
Dysprosium occurs along with other so-called rare-earth or
lanthanide elements in a variety of minerals, such as
xenotime, fergusonite, gadolinite, euxenite, polycrase, and
blomstrandine. The most important sources, however, are
from monazite and basinasite. Dysprosium can be prepared
by reduction of the trifluoride with calcium. The element
has a metallic, bright silver luster. It is relatively stable in
air
at room temperature, and is readily attacked and dissolved,
with the evolution of hydrogen, by dilute and concentrated
mineral acids. The metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife
and can be machined without sparking if overheating is
avoided. Small amounts of impurities can greatly affect its
physical properties. While dysprosium has not yet found
many applications, its thermal neutron absorption cross-
section and high melting point suggest metallurgical uses in
nuclear control applications for alloying with special stain-
less steels. A dysprosium oxide-nickel cermet has found use
in cooling nuclear reactor control rods. This cermet absorbs
neutrons readily without swelling or contracting under
prolonged neutron bombardment. In combination with
vanadium and other rare earths, dysprosium has been used
in making laser materials. Dysprosium-cadmium calco-
genides, as sources of infrared radiation, have been used for
studying chemical reactions. The cost of dysprosium metal
has dropped in recent years since the development of ion-
exchange and solvent extraction techniques, and the dis-
covery of large ore bodies. The metal is still expensive,
however, and costs about 70~gm. or $190/gm. in purities
of99+ %.
© 1999 F. Davies
Delphi O.E.M. Co.
All rights reserved
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