Neodymium

60 praseodymium ← neodymium → promethium - ↑ Nd ↓ U periodic table
General
Name, Symbol, Number	neodymium, Nd, 60
Chemical series	lanthanides
Group, Period, Block	n/a, 6, f
Appearance	silvery white, yellowish tinge
Atomic mass	144.242(3) g/mol
Electron configuration	[Xe] 4f4 6s2
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 22, 8, 2
Physical properties
Phase	solid
Density (near r.t.)	7.01 g/cm³
Liquid density at m.p.	6.89 g/cm³
Melting point	1297 K (1024 °C, 1875 °F)
Boiling point	3347 K (3074 °C, 5565 °F)
Heat of fusion	7.14 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	289 kJ/mol
Heat capacity	(25 °C) 27.45 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P/Pa 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T/K 1595 1774 1998 (2296) (2715) (3336)
Atomic properties
Crystal structure	hexagonal
Oxidation states	3 (mildly basic oxide)
Electronegativity	1.14 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies (more)	1st: 533.1 kJ/mol
	2nd: 1040 kJ/mol
	3rd: 2130 kJ/mol
Atomic radius	185 pm
Atomic radius (calc.)	206 pm
Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering	ferromagnetic
Electrical resistivity	(r.t.) (α, poly) 643 nΩ·m
Thermal conductivity	(300 K) 16.5 W/(m·K)
Thermal expansion	(r.t.) (α, poly) 9.6 µm/(m·K)
Speed of sound (thin rod)	(20 °C) 2330 m/s
Speed of sound (thin rod)	(r.t.) (α form) 41.4 m/s
Shear modulus	(α form) 16.3 GPa
Bulk modulus	(α form) 31.8 GPa
Poisson ratio	(α form) 0.281
Vickers hardness	343 MPa
Brinell hardness	265 MPa
CAS registry number	7440-00-8
Notable isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of neodymium iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP 142Nd 27.13% Nd is stable with 82 neutrons 143Nd 12.18% Nd is stable with 83 neutrons 144Nd 23.8% 2.29×1015y α 1.905 140Ce 145Nd 8.3% Nd is stable with 85 neutrons 146Nd 17.19% Nd is stable with 86 neutrons 148Nd 5.76% Nd is stable with 88 neutrons 150Nd 5.64% 1.1×1019y β-β- 3.367 150Sm

Neodymium (chemical symbol Nd, atomic number 60) is a silvery metallic element that is a member of the lanthanide series of chemical elements. It is considered one of the "rare earth metals."

Occurrence

In nature, neodymium is found not as the free element but in ores such as monazite sand ((Ce,La,Th,Nd,Y)PO₄) and bastnasite ((Ce,La,Th,Nd,Y)(CO₃)F), which contain small amounts of various rare earth metals. Neodymium can also be found in Misch metal, an alloy of rare earth elements in a range of naturally occurring proportions. It is difficult to separate neodymium from other rare earth elements.

History

Neodymium was discovered by Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach, an Austrian chemist, in Vienna in 1885. He separated neodymium, as well as the element praseodymium, from a material known as didymium by means of spectroscopic analysis; however, it was not isolated in relatively pure form until 1925. The name neodymium is derived from the Greek words neos, new, and didymos, twin.

Today, neodymium is primarily obtained through an ion exchange process of monazite sand ((Ce,La,Th,Nd,Y)PO₄), a material rich in rare earth elements, and through electrolysis of its halide salts.

Notable characteristics

Neodymium is an inner transition metal (or lanthanide) that lies in period 6 of the periodic table, between praseodymium and promethium. Neodymium, a rare earth metal, is present in Misch metal to the extent of about 18%. It has a bright, silvery metallic luster, but as one of the more reactive rare earth metals, it quickly tarnishes in air. The tarnishing forms an oxide layer that falls off, which exposes the metal to further oxidation. Although it belongs to "rare earth metals," neodymium is not rare at all. It constitutes 38 ppm of Earth’s crust.

Isotopes

Naturally occurring Neodymium is composed of 5 stable isotopes, ¹⁴²Nd, ¹⁴³Nd, ¹⁴⁵Nd, ¹⁴⁶Nd and ¹⁴⁸Nd, with ¹⁴²Nd being the most abundant (27.2% natural abundance), and 2 radioisotopes, ¹⁴⁴Nd and ¹⁵⁰Nd. In all, 31 radioisotopes of Neodymium have been characterized, with the most stable being ¹⁵⁰Nd with a half-life (T_½) of >1.1×10¹⁹ years, ¹⁴⁴Nd with a half-life of 2.29×10¹⁵ years, and ¹⁴⁷Nd with a half-life of 10.98 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 3.38 days, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 71 seconds. This element also has 4 meta states with the most stable being ¹³⁹Nd^m (T_½ 5.5 hours), ¹³⁵Nd^m (T_½ 5.5 minutes) and ¹⁴¹Nd^m (T_½ 62.0 seconds).

The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, ¹⁴²Nd, is electron capture and the primary mode after is beta minus decay. The primary decay products before ¹⁴²Nd are element Pr (praseodymium) isotopes and the primary products after are element Pm (promethium) isotopes.

Compounds

Neodymium compounds include

• Halides
  • NdF₃
  • NdCl₃
  • NdBr₃
  • NdI₃
• Oxides
  • Nd₂O₃
• Sulfides
  • NdS
  • Nd₂S₃
• Nitrides
  • NdN

See also neodymium compounds.

Applications

• Neodymium is a component of didymium glass, which is used to make specialized goggles for welders and glass blowers.

• Neodymium colors glass in delicate shades, ranging from pure violet through wine-red and warm gray. Light transmitted through such glass shows unusually sharp absorption bands. The glass is used in astronomical work to produce sharp bands by which spectral lines may be calibrated. Neodymium is also used to remove the green color caused by iron contaminants from glass.

Neodymium doped glass slabs used in extremely powerful lasers for inertial confinement fusion.

• Neodymium salts are used as colorants for enamels.

• Neodymium is used in the strongest permanent magnets known: Nd₂Fe₁₄B. These magnets are cheaper, lighter, and stronger than samarium-cobalt magnets. Neodymium magnets appear in high-quality products such as microphones, professional loudspeakers, in-ear headphones, and computer hard disks, where low mass, small volume, or strong magnetic fields are required.

• Nd³⁺ has been reported [1] to promote plant growth, probably because of similarities to Ca²⁺. Compounds of rare earth elements are frequently used as fertilizers in China.

• The size and strength of a volcanic eruption can be predicted by scanning for neodymium isotopes. The neodymium isotope composition of volcanic lava offers a gauge for the magnitude of a forthcoming volcanic eruption. Scientists can thus use this information to predict the size of an impending eruption and send a warning to residents of the area.

• Certain transparent materials with a small concentration of neodymium ions can be used in lasers as gain media for infrared wavelengths (1054-1064 nm). Examples of these materials are neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG), yttrium lithium fluoride (Nd:YLF), and yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO₄).

• Neodymium glass (Nd:Glass) solid-state lasers are used in extremely high power (terawatt scale), high energy (megajoules) multiple beam systems for inertial confinement fusion.

Precautions

Neodymium metal dust is a combustion and explosion hazard.

Neodymium compounds, like all rare earth metals, are of low to moderate toxicity; however its toxicity has not been thoroughly investigated. Neodymium dust and salts are very irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes, and moderately irritating to skin. Breathing the dust can cause lung embolisms, and accumulated exposure damages the liver. Neodymium also acts as an anticoagulant, especially when given intravenously.

Neodymium magnets have been tested for medical uses such as magnetic braces and bone repair, but biocompatibility issues have prevented widespread application.

See also

• Chemical element
• Inner transition metal
• Metal
• Periodic table
• Neodymium magnet (NIB or NdFeB)

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Neodymium Los Alamos National Laboratory. Retrieved February 20, 2007.

• Chang, Raymond (2006). Chemistry (ninth ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math. ISBN 0073221031.

• Cotton, F. Albert; and Wilkinson, Geoffrey (1980). Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (4th ed.), New York, NY: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-02775-8.

• Greenwood, N.N.; and Earnshaw, A. (1998). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd Edition). Oxford, U.K.; Burlington, Massachusetts: Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Science. ISBN 0750633654. Online version.

• Jones, Adrian P., Frances Wall, and C. Terry Williams (editors) (1996). Rare Earth Minerals: Chemistry, Origin and Ore Deposits (The Mineralogical Society Series). London, UK: Chapman and Hall. ISBN 0412610302 (ISBN-13: 978-0412610301).

• Stwertka, Albert (1998). Guide to the Elements, Revised Edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508083-1.

External links

• USGS Rare Earth Commodity Summary 2006

• WebElements.com – Neodymium

• It's Elemental – Neodymium

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Neodymium  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Neodymium"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.