Chemical Properties
metal ingots
Physical properties
Dysprosium is a dense (specific gravity = 8.540) metal. It is soft, and when cut with aknife, it appears as a silvery metal that oxidizes slowly at room temperatures. The white oxide(Dy2O3) that forms on the outside of the metal sloughs off, exposing a fresh surface of themetal for more oxidation. The oxide of dysprosium is also called dysprosia.
Its melting point is 1,412°C, its boiling point is 2,567°C, and its density is 8.540g/cm
3.
Isotopes
There are a total of 39 isotopes of dysprosium, seven of which are stable. Theatomic mass of the stable isotopes ranges from 156 to 164 amu (atomic mass units oratomic weight). The unstable isotopes of dysprosium have half-lives ranging from 150milliseconds to 3.0×10+6 years. All of the unstable isotopes are radioactive and are producedartificially.
Origin of Name
The word dysprosium was derived from the Greek word dysprositos,
which means “difficult to approach.”
Occurrence
Dysprosium is the 43rd most abundant element on Earth and ranks ninth in abundanceof the rare-earths found in the Earth’s crust. It is a metallic element that is usually found asan oxide (disprosia). Like most rare-earths, it is found in the minerals monazite and allanite,which are extracted from river sands of India, Africa, South America, and Australia and thebeaches of Florida. It is also found in the mineral bastnasite in California.
Characteristics
Dysprosium, with characteristics similar to most of the other rare-earths, was difficult todiscover. Although dysprosium does not react rapidly with moist air at low temperatures, it does react with water and the halogens at high temperatures. It also reacts in solutions of weakacids. At low temperatures, dysprosium is strongly magnetic.
Definition
A soft malleable silvery element of the lanthanoid
series of metals. It occurs in association
with other lanthanoids. One of its
few uses is as a neutron absorber in nuclear
reactors; it is also a constituent of certain
magnetic alloys.
Definition
dysprosium: Symbol Dy. A soft silverymetallic element belonging tothe lanthanoids; a.n. 66; r.a.m.162.50; r.d. 8.551 (20°C); m.p. 1412°C;b.p. 2562°C. It occurs in apatite,gadolinite, and xenotime, fromwhich it is extracted by an ionexchangeprocess. There are sevennatural isotopes and twelve artificialisotopes have been identified. It findslimited use in some alloys as a neutronabsorber, particularly in nucleartechnology. It was discovered by PaulLecoq de Boisbaudran (1838–1912) in1886.
Hazard
Dysprosium nitrate [Dy2(NO3)3] is a strong oxidizing agent and will ignite when in contactwith organic material. Most dysprosium salts are toxic if ingested or inhaled.
Flammability and Explosibility
Flammable
reaction suitability
reagent type: catalyst
core: dysprosium
Synthesis
Dysprosium is produced primarily from the mining of monazite sands consisting of a mixture of various phosphates and is one of the by-products of the yttrium extraction process. The process of separating dysprosium can use magnetic or buoyancy methods
