57
La
Lanthanum
LAN-the-nem
Lanthanum (La) is a soft silvery white coloured metal that has the atomic number 57 in the periodic table. It is a Lanthanide metal.
Lanthanum is classed as a rare earth metal much like Yttrium. It was discovered by Carl Mosander in 1839 in the mineral cerite. Moander took some finely powdered Cerium nitrate and mixed it with nitric acid, upon separating out the solid he obtained a brick red oxide. It was not until 1923 that pure Lanthanum was obtained by electrolysis. Much like the alkali metals Lanthanum can be cut with a knife and oxidises quickly and is reactive with water. Lanthanum is used in rechargeable batteries and as a catalyst to crack petroleum fractions. It is a solid metal at room temperature with a melting point of 920°c and a boiling point of 3464°c.
COUNTRY of ORIGIN:
Australia, China, India, Russia, United States
USES:
No items found.
Lanthanum is primarily used as a catalyst in petroleum refining and in nickel-hydride rechargeable batteries. It has refractive properties and is used in optical glass, especially in cameras. It comprises 25% of pyrophoric alloy known as mischmetal which is used for flints of cigarette lighters.
Orbital Configuration
2,8,18,18,9,2
57
Protons
57
Electrons
82
Neutrons
Discovered in
1839
by :
Carl Mosander
Lanthanum
Stats

Element Symbol

Atomic Weight

Atomic Number

State

Melting Point

Boiling Point

Heat of Vaporization

Crystal Structure

Thermoconductivity

Shells

Group

Period

Block

Orbitals

Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

Covalent Radius

Density at 293K

Electrical Conductivity

First Ionization Potential

Second Ionization Potential

Third Ionization Potential

Ionic Radius

Oxydation States

Lattice Parameter

La

138.905

57

Solid

918 °C

3464 °C

414 kJ/mol

Hexagonal

0.135 W/cmK

2,8,18,18,9,2

Lanthanide

6

F Block

[Xe] 5d1 6s2

5.2 10^-6 K^-1

1.69 Å

6.7 g/cm³

0.0126 10^6/cm ohm

5.5770 V

11.059 V

19.174 V

1.16 (+3) Å

3

3.770 Å

PICK A RARE EARTH ELEMENT TO LEARN MORE
1
H
Hydrogen
2
He
Helium
3
Li
Lithium
4
Be
Beryllium
5
B
Boron
6
C
Carbon
7
N
Nitrogen
8
O
Oxygen
9
F
Fluorine
10
Ne
Neon
11
Na
Sodium
12
Mg
Magnesium
13
Al
Aluminium
14
Si
Silicon
15
P
Phosphorus
16
S
Sulfur
17
Cl
Chlorine
18
Ar
Argon
19
K
Potassium
20
Ca
Calcium
21
Sc
Scandium
22
Ti
Titanium
23
V
Vanadium
24
Cr
Chromium
25
Mn
Manganese
26
Fe
Iron
27
Co
Colbalt
28
Ni
Nickel
29
Cu
Copper
30
Zn
Zinc
31
Ga
Gallium
32
Ge
Germanium
33
As
Arsenic
34
Se
Selenium
35
Br
Bromine
36
Kr
Krypton
37
Rb
Rubidium
38
Sr
Strontium
39
Y
Yttrium
40
Zr
Zirconium
41
Nb
Niobium
42
Mo
Molybdenum
43
Tc
Technetium
44
Ru
Ruthenium
45
Rh
Rhodium
46
Pd
Palladium
47
Ag
Silver
48
Cd
Cadmium
49
In
Iridium
50
Sn
Tin
51
Sb
Antimony
52
Te
Tellurium
53
I
Iodine
54
Xe
Xenon
55
Cs
Caesium
56
Ba
Barium
56
*
72
Hf
Hafnium
73
Ta
Tantalum
74
W
Tungsten
75
Re
Rhenium
76
Os
Osmium
77
Ir
Iridium
78
Pt
Platinum
79
Au
Gold
80
Hg
Mercury
81
Tl
Vanadium
82
Pb
Lead
83
Bi
Bismuth
84
Po
Polonium
85
At
Astatine
86
Rn
Radon
87
Fr
Francium
88
Ra
Radium
89
**
104
Rf
Rutherfordium
105
Db
Dubnium
106
Sg
Seaborgium
107
Bh
Bohrium
108
Hs
Hassium
109
Mt
Meitnerium
110
Ds
Darmstadtium
111
Rg
Roentgenium
112
Cn
Copernicium
113
Nh
Nionium
114
Fl
Flerovium
115
Mc
Moscovium
116
Lv
Livermorium
117
Ts
Tennessine
118
Og
Oganesson
89
**
89
Ac
Actinium
90
Th
Thorium
91
Pa
Protactinium
92
U
Uranium
93
Np
Neptunium
94
Pu
Plutonium
95
Am
Americium
96
Cm
Curium
97
Bk
Berkelium
98
Cf
Californium
99
Es
Einsteinium
100
Fm
Fermium
101
Md
Mendelevium
102
No
Nobelium
103
Lr
Lawrencium
PICK A
RARE EARTH ELEMENT
TO LEARN MORE
21
Sc
Scandium
39
Y
Yttrium
57
La
Lanthanum
58
Ce
Cerium
59
Pr
Praseodymium
60
Nd
Neodymium
61
Pm
Promethium
62
Sm
Samarium
63
Eu
Europium
64
Gd
Gadolinium
65
Tb
Terbium
66
Dy
Dysprosium
67
Ho
Holmium
68
Er
Erbium
69
Tm
Thulium
70
Yb
Ytterbium
71
Lu
Lutetium