Chemical Properties
grey powder
Physical properties
Praseodymium is a silvery-white, soft metal that is easily formed into various shapes. Whenthe pure metal is exposed to the air, a green oxide coating forms on its surface. To preventoxidation, praseodymium is usually kept in oil in a covered container.
Its melting point is 931°C, its boiling point is 3,520°C, and its density is 6.77g/cm3.
Isotopes
There are 45 isotopes of praseodymium. All are artificially produced and radioactivewith half-lives ranging from several hundred nanoseconds to 23.6 days. Only oneis stable (Pa-141), and it makes up 100% of the praseodymium found in the Earth’scrust.
Origin of Name
The name is derived from two Greek words, prasios and didymos,
which together mean “green twins.”
Occurrence
Praseodymium is the 41st most abundant element on Earth and is found in the ores of monazite,cerite, bastnasite, and allanite along with other rare-earths. Praseodymium is also the stableisotope resulting from the process of fission of some other heavy elements, such as uranium.
Praseodymium is mainly found in monazite sands and bastnasite ores. The monazite sandscontain all of the rare-earths and are found in river sand in India and Brazil as well as inFlorida beach sand. A large deposit of bastnasite exists in California.
Praseodymium is separated from its ore and other rare-earths by a process called ionexchange, which exchanges one type of ion for another.
Characteristics
As a metal, Pr is hygroscopic (adsorbs water) and tarnishes in the atmosphere. It will reactwith water to liberate hydrogen. It is soluble in acids and forms greenish salts, along with someother rare-earths. It is used to fabricate the electrodes for high-intensity lights.
Preparation
Praesodymium may be recovered from its minerals monazite and bastanasite. The didymia extract of rare earth minerals is a mixture of praesodymia and neodymia, primarily oxides of praesodymium and neodymium. Several methods are known for isolation of rare earths. These are applicable to all rare earths including praesodymium. They include solvent extractions,ionexchange, and fractional crystallization. While the first two methods form easy and rapid separation of rare earth metals, fractional crystallization is more tedious. Extractions and separations of rare earths have been discussed in detail earlier (see Neodymium and Cerium).
Praesodymium metal can be obtained from its anhydrous halides by reduction with calcium. The metal also may be prepared by electrolysis of fused praesodymium chloride at elevated temperatures (about 1,000°C).Alternatively, an eutectic mixture of praesodymium chloride, potassium chloride, and sodium chloride may be electrolyzed. In such electrolysis graphite is the anode and tungsten the cathode.
Hazard
If praseodymium gets wet or is submerged in water, the hydrogen released may explode. Itmust be kept dry and protected from the atmosphere.
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