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History and Production
Named after the asteroid Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, discovered in 1801. Cerium was discovered in 1803 by J.J. Berzelius, W. Hisinger and independently, by M. Klaproth. It is commercially extracted from monazite (MPO4, M = Ce, Th, La etc.) and bastnaesite (MCO3F, M = La, Ce etc.)
The metal is obtained by reducing its fluoride with calcium metal. It can also be obtained by electrolysis of fused chloride. It is one of the constituent in misch metal for making lighter flints. Cerium is also used as a getter of noble gas in vacuum apparatus.
With other rare earths it is used as carbon-arc lighting and as catalysts in petroleum refining. The isotope 144Ce is also used as a source for electron emitter.
Physical Data
It has steel-grey in appearance, rather soft and ductile. It tarnishes in air and readily burn to give the oxide (CeO2). It has about 66 ppm in natural abundance, usually associates with
other rare earth metals in monazite sand, bastnaesite, samarskite, cerite etc.
Interatomic distance: 365 pm
Melting point: 798°C
Boiling point: 3424°C
Thermal conductivity/Wm-1K-1: 11.4 (27°C)
Density/kgm-3: 8240 (a), 6749 (b), 6773 (g), 6700 (d) all at 25°C
Standard Thermodynamic Data (atomic gas)
Enthalpy of formation: 423.0 kJ/mol
Gibbs free energy of formation: 385.0 kJ/mol
Entropy: 191.8 J/mol K
Heat capacity: 23.1 J/mol K
Electronic data
Electronic configuration: [Xe] 4f1 5d1 6s2
Term symbol: 3H4
Electron affinity: - Electronegativity (Pauline): 1.12
Ionization energy (first, second, third): 534.404, 1046.87, 1948.81 kJ/mol
Chemical properties
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