Chemical Properties
grey powder
Physical properties
In the last (17th) position in the lanthanide series, lutetium is the heaviest and largestmolecule of all the rare-earths as well as the hardest and most corrosion-resistant. It has asilvery-white color and is somewhat stable under normal atmospheric conditions.
Its melting point is 1,663°C, its boiling point is 3,402°C, and its density is 9.84g/cm3.
Isotopes
There are a total of 59 isotopes of Lutetium. Only two of these are stable: Lu-175, which makes up 97.41% of all the natural abundance found on Earth. The otheris a long-lived radioisotope (Lu-176) with such a long half-life (4.00×10+10 years) thatit is considered stable: Lu-176 contributes 2.59% to the natural abundance of lutetium.
Origin of Name
Lutetium’s name is derived from the ancient Latin name for Paris,
France: Lutecia.
Occurrence
Lutetium is the 60th most abundant element on Earth, and it ranks 15th in the abundanceof the rare-earths. It is one of the rarest of the lanthanide series. It is found in monazite sand(India, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, and Florida), which contains small amounts of all therare-earths. Lutetium is found in the concentration of about 0.0001% in monazite. It is difficultto separate it from other rare-earths by the ion-exchange process. In the pure metallicform, lutetium is difficult to prepare, which makes is very expensive.
Characteristics
Lutetium has had a number of different names over the years. At one time or another,it was called neoytterbium, lutecium, lutetia, lutetium, and cassiopium. Some scientists inGermany still refer to it as cassiopium.
Lutetium reacts slowly with water and is soluble in weak acids. Its crystals exhibit strongmagnetic properties, which are important to the study of magnetism.
Definition
A silvery element
of the lanthanoid series of metals. It
occurs in association with other lanthanoids.
Lutetium is a very rare lanthanoid
and has few uses.
Symbol: Lu; m.p. 1663°C; b.p. 3395°C;
r.d. 9.84 (25°C); p.n. 71; r.a.m. 174.967.
Definition
lutetium: Symbol Lu. A silvery metallic element belonging to thelanthanoids; a.n. 71; r.a.m. 174.97;r.d. 9.8404 (20°C); m.p. 1663°C; b.p.3402°C. Lutetium is the least abundantof the elements and the little quantities that are available have been obtained by processing other metals. There are two natural isotopes,lutetium–175 (stable) andlutetium–176 (half-life 2.2×1010years). The element is used as a catalyst.It was first identified by GergesUrbain (1872–1938) in 1907.
Hazard
Lutetium fluoride is a skin irritant, and its fumes are toxic if inhaled. The dust and powderof the oxides of some rare-earths, including lutetium, are toxic if inhaled or ingested.
