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Article: Cerium
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Cerium
melting point:
798
°
C
boiling point: 3,257
°
C
density: 6.773 g/cm
3
most common ions: Ce
3+
, Ce
4+
In 1751 the Swedish chemist Axel F. Cronstedt found, near Bastn
ä
s, Sweden, a mineral that was eventually named cerita (its name related to the planetoid Ceres). Independently, Martin Klaproth, J
ö
ns J. Berzelius, and Wilhelm Hisinger, working with cerita, each isolated a product, ceria (in 1803), from which Carl G. Mosander obtained three different substances, as oxides: cerium, lanthanum, and a mixture of oxides known as didymia.
Cerium is the most abundant member of the
lanthanide
, or rare earth, elements. It has two stable
valence
states, Ce
3+
(cerous) and Ce
...