Dysprosium

Dysprosium - Dy

CAS: 7429-91-6
Description: Soft, metallic, with a bright silver luster
Classification: Rare Earth (Lanthanide)
Date of Discovery: 1886
Discoverer: Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
Name Origin: Greek word dysprositos "hard to get at"

Atomic Number: 66
Number of Neutrons: 97
Atomic Mass: 162.50(3) amu
Melting Point: 1412 °C
Boiling Point: 2567 °C
Density (25 °C): 8.551 g/cm³
Atomic volume: 19.0 cm³/mol
Electrical resistivity: 0.0108 10^-6/cm

Thermal conductivity: 0.107 W/cm/K
Enthalpy of atomization: 301 kJ/mol (est.)
Enthalpy of vaporization: 230.0 kJ/mol
Enthalpy of fusion: 11.05 kJ/mol
Specific heat capacity: 0.17 J/gK

Energy levels: 2-8-18-28-8-2
Electron configuration: [Xe]4f ¹⁰6s²
Crystal Structure: Hexagonal
Atomic radius: 2.49 Å
Covalent radius: 1.59 Å
Oxidation States: +3
Electronegativity, Pauling: 1.23
Electron affinity:
First ionization energy: 5.94 eV
2nd ionization energy: 11.67 eV
3rd ionization energy: 22.802 eV
Polarizability: 24.5 10^-24cm³

Isotope	Natural Abundance	Atomic Mass	Half-life	Decay Mode	Spin
¹⁴¹Dy	140.951	0.9 s	EC, ⁺
¹⁴²Dy	141.946	2.3 s	EC, ⁺
¹⁴³Dy	142.9440	3.9 s	EC, ⁺
¹⁴⁴Dy	143.9391	9.1 s	EC, ⁺
¹⁴⁵Dy	144.9365	14 s	EC, ⁺	11/2-
^146mDy	0.15 s	IT	10+
¹⁴⁶Dy	145.9325	30 s	EC, ⁺
^147mDy	56 s	IT; ⁺, EC	(11/2-)
¹⁴⁷Dy	146.9309	75 s	EC, ⁺	1/2+
¹⁴⁸Dy	147.92710	3.1 m	⁺; EC	0+
¹⁴⁹Dy	148.92734	4.2 m	⁺, EC	(7/2-)
¹⁵⁰Dy	149.92558	7.18 m	^-;	0+
¹⁵¹Dy	150.926181	17 m	⁺; EC;	7/2-
¹⁵²Dy	151.92472	2.37 h	EC;	0+
¹⁵³Dy	152.925763	6.3 h	⁺; EC;	(7/2-)
¹⁵⁴Dy	153.92442	3 x 10⁶ y		0+
¹⁵⁵Dy	154.92575	9.9 h	⁺; EC	3/2-
¹⁵⁶Dy	0.06(1)	155.92428	Stable	0+
¹⁵⁷Dy	156.92546	8.1 h	EC	3/2-
¹⁵⁸Dy	0.10(1)	157.924405	Stable	0+
¹⁵⁹Dy	158.925736	144 d	EC	3/2-
¹⁶⁰Dy	2.34(6)	159.925194	Stable	0+
¹⁶¹Dy	18.9(2)	160.926930	Stable	5/2+
¹⁶²Dy	25.5(2)	161.926795	Stable	0+
¹⁶³Dy	24.9(2)	162.928728	Stable	5/2-
¹⁶⁴Dy	28.2(2)	163.929171	Stable	0+
^165mDy	1.26 m	IT; ^-	1/2-
¹⁶⁵Dy	164.931700	2.33 h	^-	7/2+
¹⁶⁶Dy	165.932803	3.400 d	^-	0+
¹⁶⁷Dy	166.9357	6.2 m	^-	(1/2-)
¹⁶⁸Dy	167.9372	8.5 m	^-	0+
¹⁶⁹Dy	168.9403	39 s	^-
Dysprosium was discovered in 1886 by Lecoq de Boisbaudran, but not isolated. Neither the oxide nor the metal was available in relatively pure form until the development of ion-exchange separation and metallographic reduction techniques by Spedding and associates about 1950. Dysprosium occurs along with other so-called rare-earth or lanthanide elements in a variety of minerals such as xenotime, fergusonite, gadolinite, euxenite, polycrase, and blomstrandine (aeschynite). The most important sources, however, are from monazite and bastnasite. Dysprosium can be prepared by reduction of the trifluoride with calcium. The element has a metallic, bright silver luster. It is relatively stable in air at room temperature, and is readily attacked and dissolved, with the evolution of hydrogen, by dilute and concentrated mineral acids. The metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife and can be machined without sparking if overheating is avoided. Small amounts of impurities can greatly affect its physical properties. While dysprosium has not yet found many applications, its thermal neutron absorption cross-section and high melting point suggest metallurgical uses in nuclear control applications and for alloying with special stainless steels. A dysprosium oxide-nickel cermet has found use in cooling nuclear reactor rods. This cermet absorbs neutrons readily without swelling or contracting under prolonged neutron bombardment. In combination with vanadium and other rare earths, dysprosium has been used in making laser materials. Dysprosium-cadmium chalcogenides, as sources of infrared radiation, have been used for studying chemical reactions. The cost of dysprosium metal has dropped in recent years since the development of ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques, and the discovery of large ore bodies. Thirty-two isotopes and isomers are now known. LINKS: The Curie point of dysprosium Dysprosium Metal Dysprosium Magnetic Phase Diagrams Information, data sheet and standard forms Telecommunications Amplifier Comprised of Dysprosium-Doped Chloride Crystals Return Sources for the information on this website include: Lide, David R., ed. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 78th Ed., 1997-1998.

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