Facts about Cerium
Cerium (chemical symbol Ce, atomic number 58) is a silvery metallic element that is a member of the lanthanide series of chemical elements.
Cerium(IV) oxide is used in incandescent gas mantles, and has largely replaced rouge in the glass industry as a polishing abrasive.
Cerium(IV) sulfate is an oxidizing agent for quantitative chemical analyses, and cerium(III) chloride is a catalyst in organic synthetic reactions.
Cerium was so named by Berzelius after the dwarf planet Ceres, discovered two years earlier (1801).
Cerium(IV) oxide is a powerful oxidizing agent at high temperatures and will react with combustible organic materials.
Water should not be used to stop cerium fires, as cerium reacts with water to produce hydrogen gas.
Cerium, its alloys, and its compounds are valuable for a variety of applications.
Cerium is the most abundant of the rare earth elements, making up about 0.0046 percent of the Earth's crust by weight.
Cerium was discovered in Sweden by Jцns Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm von Hisinger, and independently in Germany by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, both in 1803.
The isotopes of cerium range in atomic weight from 119 atomic mass units (u) to 157 u.
Workers exposed to cerium have experienced itching, sensitivity to heat, and skin lesions.
Cerium is most often prepared via an ion exchange process that uses monazite sands as its cerium source.
Monazite and bastnasite are presently the two most important sources of cerium.
Naturally occurring cerium is composed of three stable isotopes (136Ce, 138Ce, 140Ce) and one radioactive isotope (142Ce).
Cerium is an inner transition metal (or lanthanide) that lies in period six of the periodic table, between lanthanum and praseodymium.
Animals injected with large doses of cerium have died due to cardiovascular collapse.