Lutetium Metal and Its Applications

Lutetium(Lu) is the one the lanthanide elements with an atomic number 71. It is a silvery-white rare earth metal that slowly tarnishes in air. Lutetium is the densest and hardest metal among rare earth metals. Being the least abundant lanthanides, lutetium is more abundant on earth than silver or gold metals. In compounds lutetium exists in its trivalent state and its halides are colorless. Lutetium readily dissolves in acids forming solutions containing colorless lutetium complexes with 7-9 water molecules ([Lu(OH)_8.2]³⁺). The discovery of this metal was made independently by several scientists in 1907. They were French chemist Georges Urbain, Austrian mineralogist Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach and American chemist Charles James. However, due to Georges Urbain’s earlier publications the element was named by him as lutecium and today we got lutetium since in 1949 the spelling was changed. Mostly and as commercially lutetium is separated from mineral called monazite. It is never found as pure in nature. Due to its low abundancy it has high price which is about $10000 per kilogram. The pure lutetium is produced by reduction of anhydrous lutetium chloride (LuCl₃) and lutetium fluoride (LuF₃) by an alkali earth metal or alkaline earth metal.

Lutetium is used as catalyst in petroleum cracking in refinery

Lutetium is used in alkylation, hydrogenation and polymerization processes

Lutetium is used to make lutetium aluminum garnets which is aimed to be used as lens materials in high refractive index immersion lithography

Lutetium is used as dopant to gadolinium gallium garnet which is used in magnetic bubble memory devices

Lutetium is used in cancer therapy

Lutetium is used in dating the age of meteorites due to its long half-life

Lutetium is used as a radionuclide, in neuroendrocine tumor therapy and bone pain palliation

Lutetium is used to make lutetium tantalate which is the densest stable white material which is used for host for X-ray phosphorous

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