Skip to main content

Terbium Characteristics and General Information

Terbium(Tb) is the one of the lanthanide element with an atomic number 63. Terbium is a silvery white earth metal that is malleable, ductile and soft enough to be cut with a knife. Terbium is an electropositive metal that reacts with water producing hydrogen gas. Terbium is never found as pure element in nature. However, terbium is found as component of many minerals like cerite, gadolinite, monazite, xenotime nad euxenite. Terbium was discovered by Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander as a separate elemental compound in 1843. Terbium was named after the village of Ytterby in Sweden as yttrium metal. Terbium was not purified until ion exchange technique was found. Most of terbium supply is used in green phosphorous. Nowadays, the richest commercial sources of terbium are the ion-adsorption clays of southern China. Only small amounts of terbium occur in bastnasite and monazite. Due to terbium’s rareness and its expensive prices, it has few commercial uses.

Applications of Terbium:
Terbium is used as a dopant in calcium fluoride, calcium tungstate and strontium molybdate. These 3 materials are used in solid-state devices and as crystal stabilizer of fuel cells which operate at elevated temperatures
Terbium is used in alloys and in the production of electronic devices.
Terbium is used in actuators, in naval sonar systems, sensors, in the SoundBug device and other magnetomechanical devices
Terbium is used as a probe in biochemistry, where it resembles calcium in its behavior
Terbium is used to detect endospores, as it acts as an assay of dipicolinic acid based on photoluminescence
Terbium is used in laser and semiconductor devices
Terbium is used in color phosphorous in lighting applications such as trichromatic lighting and in color TV tubes. It also makes the green color on Blackberry or other high definition screen
Terbium is used to make terbium-iron alloy which is needed to provide metallic films for magneto-optic recording of data
Terbium is used to make a magnet with neodymium and dysprosium that is base of electric motors of hybrid car engines and all other electric motors

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 that i
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 has re
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 and Usage Areas                                        Magnesium Oxide nanoparticles/nanopowder  can be used in many different areas. For example Magnesium Oxide nanoparticles/nanopowder are used as a fire retardant for chemical fiber and plastics trades. For making crucible, smelter, insulated conduit, electrode bar, and electrode sheet  Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder  can be used as electric insulating material. Magnesium Oxide nan
Post a Comment
Read more