| Chemical Properties | Lanthanum oxide is an oxide of lanthanum (III), white orthorhombic or amorphous powder. Soluble in acid, ethanol, ammonium chloride, insoluble in water, ketone. It is mainly used in the manufacture of precision optical glass and optical fiber. |
| Uses | Lanthanum oxide is used to make high-quality glass, ceramics, carbon-arc electrodes, and fluorescent lamps. Lanthanum (III) oxide was used as an analytical standard in inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) for chemical characterization of ancient pottery. |
| Uses | Lanthanum(III) oxide is used as a precursor to LAMOX fast ion conductors and superconductors. It is also used in the manufacture of optical glasses, piezoelectric and thermoelectric material. It is also useful for X-ray imaging intensifying screens, phosphors as well as dielectric and conductive ceramics. In addition, it is used as a catalyst to effect certain organic transformations. It is one of the active ingredients and finds application in thermoelectric and piezoelectric materials. |
| Application | Lanthanum Oxide, also called Lanthana, high purity Lanthanum Oxide (99.99% to 99.999%) is applied in making special optical glasses to improves the alkali resistance of glass, and is used in La-Ce-Tb phosphors for fluorescent lamps and making special optical glasses, such as infrared-absorbing glass, as well as camera and telescope lenses, Low grade of Lanthanum Oxide is widely used in ceramics and FCC catalyst, and also as raw material for Lanthanum Metal production; Lanthanum Oxide is also used as a grain growth additive during the liquid phase sintering of Silicon Nitride and Zirconium Diboride. |
| Preparation | Lanthanum oxide can be produced by direct combustion of lanthanum in oxygen or air. The oxide also may be prepared by decomposition of an oxo salt of lanthanum, such as nitrate, sulfate, carbonate, hydroxide or oxalate.
La(CO3)3•8H2O → La2O3 + 3CO2 + 8H2O
2La2(C2O4)3•9H2O + 3O2 → 2La2O3 + 12CO2 + 18H2O |
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