Skip to main content

Rundown About Samarium


Samarium(Sm) is the one of lanthanide rare earth metals with atomic number 62. Samarium is bright, fairly hard, silvery white metal. Samarium is stable at room temperature, but samarium ignites in air at 150oC or higher temperatures. Usually samarium assumes to be mostly at +3 oxidation state. Samarium is slightly toxic, but it has no significant biological role. Samarium was discovered in 1853 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac. However, samarium was firstly isolated in 1879 by French chemist Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran from mineral called samarskite, the mineral which named after soviet after Colonel Samarskii. Samarium’s hardness and density are similar to zinc’s and has paramagnetic property at room temperature. Samarium is 40th most abundant element in Earth’s crust and 5th most abundant lanthanide with average concentration 8ppm. Samarium is not found free in nature. It’s found, like other rare earth metals, in mineral containing it like monazite, bastnasite, cerite, gadolinite, and samarskite. Commercially, samarium is recovered from minerals using ion exchange and solvent extraction techniques. In addition, samarium metal could be produced of the molten samarium chloride with sodium chloride.
Applications of Samarium:
Samarium-cobalt magnets are much more powerful than iron-cobalt magnets and are used in microwave applications due to its ability to remain its magnetic properties at high temperature.
Samarium is used in headphones and stereos because samarium-cobalt magnets enabled the miniaturization of electronic devices.
Samarium is used to dope calcium chloride crystals for use in optical lasers.
Samarium is used in infrared absorbing glass.
Samarium is used as neutron absorber in nuclear reactors.
Samarium is used in specialized use in glass and ceramics as samarium oxide compound.
Samarium is used in carbon arc lighting for studio lighting and projection.
Samarium oxide used as catalyst in the dehydration and dehydrogenation of ethanol.
Samarium is used in small motors and pickups for some electric guitars as samarium-cobalt magnet.
Samarium, the radioactive Sm-153, is used in treatments of cancer.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Carbon Nanotube Threads

Since its discovery, carbon nanotube (CNT) has attracted many interests in different technology fields due to its extraordinary properties. Properties such as, high strength, great electrical and thermal conductivity, light weight and flexibility made CNT one of the best materials for wide range of applications. However, from its name it can be understood that CNT is a nanoscale material which is very small to be applied for the production of daily products. Researchers all around the world are working on finding methods and techniques which could produce new materials with the extraordinary properties of CNT. Image retrieved from:  https://worldindustrialreporter.com/strong-light-flexible-carbon-nanotubes-threads-with-ultrahigh-conductivity/ One of these research is focusing on the production of high strength threads that can be used in the manufacturing of fabrics, cables and ropes. An international group of scientists were able to produce a flexible conductive thread th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Multi Walled Carbon Nanotube Dispersions

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)  have attracted enormous attention in recent years due to its unique physical, electronic, optical and potential applications in materials science and nanotechnology. The van der Waals interaction between tubes, however, makes CNTs aggregate in most organic solvents and aqueous solutions, which is the major limitation of their practical applications.Various approaches have been studied to alter the CNT surface to promote the dispersion of individual nanotubes and prevent their reaggregation. On the basis of this widely accepted viewpoint, numerous techniques such as covalent bonding, surfactant coating and polymer wrapping have been developed for surface modification or sidewall functionalization.These methods, however, are complicated, time-consuming and cause permanent damage to the CNT structure and properties of the surface, which produces residues of the dispersion agent for the final product. Figure: Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) It ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder and Applications

General Information about Magnesium Oxide Magnesium oxide which has the chemical formula of MgO, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of Magnesium. It is a white powder at room temperature. Magnesium Oxide has very high melting point (2825  o C) and boiling point (3600  o C).                                                                                                                                                                                Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder an...
Post a Comment
Read more