Cerium - ASCII Periodic Table of the Elements

ASCII PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS

  Ce

Relative atomic mass: 140.116 +- 0.001

English: Cerium
French: Cerium
Croatian: Cerij
German: Cer
Italian: Cerio
Spanish: Cerio

Atomic number: 58
Group numbers: 3
Period: 6
Standard state (20 ^oC): solid

Discovery: 1803 Jons Jakob Berzelius, Wilhelm Hisinger (SE); Martin Heinrich Klaproth (DE)

Cerium was discovered by Jons Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger (SE) in 1803 and independently by Martin Heinrich Klaproth (DE). Named after the asteroid Ceres discovered two years before the element. It is a malleable, ductile, iron-grey metal that tarnishes in air and reacts easily with water. Cerium dissolves in acids and ignites when heated. Metal ignites and burns readily. Strong reductant. Cerium is most abundant rare earth metal. Found in many minerals like monazite sand [Ce(PO4)]. Its oxides are used in the optics and glass-making industries. Its salts are used in the photography and textile industry. Cerium is also used in high-intensity carbon lamps and as alloying agents in special metals. The price of 99.8 % pure cerium ingot is 256.20 € for 250 g.

Electronic configuration: [Xe] 4f² 6s²
Formal oxidation number: +3 +4
Atomic radius: 182.5 pm

Electronegativities: 1.12
Thermal conductivity: 11.4 W/(m K)
Electrical resistivity (20 ^oC): 75 microOhm cm

Melting point: 798 ^oC
Boiling point: 3443 ^oC

Heat of fusion: 8.87 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization: 398 kJ/mol
Heat of atomization: 423.4 kJ/mol