|
61
Pm
(145)
|
| Classification: | Promethium is a lanthanide and rare earth metal |
| Color: | silvery-white |
| Atomic weight: | (145), no stable isotopes |
| State: | solid |
| Melting point: | 1142oC, 1415 K |
| Boiling point: | 3300oC, 3573 K |
| Shells: | 2,8,18,23,8,2 |
| Electron configuration: | [Xe] 4f5 6s2 |
| Density @ 20oC: | 7.220 g/cm3 |
| Atomic volume: | 22.39 cm3/mol |
| Structure: | cp: close packed (ABCB) |
| Hardness: |
Discovery of Promethium
Promethium was the last of the rare earth lanthanide elements to be discovered.
The existence of an element between neodymium (No. 60) and samarium (No. 62) was first predicted by chemist Bohuslav Brauner in 1902.
In 1926, B. Smith Hopkins claimed that the element had been found in rare-earth residues of monazite and he named it illinium, after his university and State. Hopkins was of the opinion that the element was radioactive with a short half-life.
However, Luigi Rolla also claimed to have discovered the element in 1924 (his work was not published until 1926) and he named it florentium(1).
Finally in 1945, firm evidence that element 61 had been isolated was produced by Jacob. A. Marinsky, Lawrence E. Glendenin and Charles D. Coryell who produced it from fission products of uranium. Promethium-147 was isolated by ion-exchange chromatography(2)(3)(4).
They named the element promethium, which was accepted in 1949 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
The name comes from the Greek Titan Prometheus, who in Greek mythology stole fire from Mount Olympus to give to mankind.
Appearance & Characteristics
Promethium is harmful due to its radioactivity.
Characteristics:
Promethium is the only rare earth radioactive metal.
In the dark, its salts luminesce with a pale blue or green glow due to its high radioactivity.
Isotope 147Pm, the most useful isotope, decays with with energetic gamma rays.
Uses of Promethium
Promethium is useful as a beta source for thickness gauges.
Promethium is also used in atomic batteries for spacecraft and guided missiles.
Abundance & Isotopes
Abundance solar system: negligible
Cost, pure: $ per g
Cost, bulk: $ per 100g
Source: Promethium has not been found in any observable amounts in the earth's crust. It is found in miniscule amounts in uranium ores as a product of uranium decay. Promethium can be produced as a product of uranium fission.
Isotopes: Promethium has 29 whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers from 130 to 158. Promethium has no naturally occuring isotopes. Its longest lived isotope is 145Pm with a half-life of 17.7 years and 147Pm, with a half-life of 2.6234 years.
Energies
Heat of fusion: 7.13 kJ mol-1
1st ionization energy: 535.9 kJ mol-1
3rd ionization energy: 2150 kJ mol-1
Heat of vaporization: 332.63 kJ mol-1
2nd ionization energy: 1052 kJ mol-1
Electron affinity: kJ mol-1
Oxidation & Electrons
Minimum oxidation number: 0
Min. common oxidation no.: 0
Electronegativity (Pauling Scale):
Maximum oxidation number: 3
Max. common oxidation no.: 3
Polarizability volume: 30.1 Å3
Reactions & Compounds
Reaction with 15 M HNO3: mild, => Pm(NO3)3
Oxide(s): Pm2O3
Hydride(s):
Reaction with 6 M NaOH:
Chloride(s): PmCl3
Radius
Ionic radius (2+ ion): pm
Ionic radius (2- ion): pm
Ionic radius (3+ ion): 113 pm
Ionic radius (1- ion): pm
Conductivity
References
2. Mary Elvira Weeks., The Discovery of the Elements XX., Journal of Chemical Education. March 1933: p167.
3. Robert E. Krebs., The history and use of our earth's chemical elements: a reference guide.,Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, page 286
4. John Emsley., Nature's building blocks: an A-Z guide to the elements.,Oxford University Press, 2003, page 344
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