Chemical data for Sm - Samarium | PhysLink.com

Samarium

 Samarium 
Sm
Atomic Number: 62
Atomic Weight: 150.36
Element Type: Rare Earth Metal
Crystal Structure: Rhombohedral
Melting Point: 1074.0°C = 1965.2°F = 1347.15 K
Boiling Point: °C = °F = K
Critical Temp: °C = °F = K
Atomic Radius: 2.59 Å (Å = Angstrom = 10-10 m)
Covalent Radius: 1.62 Å
Electronegativity: 1.17

History

(Samarskite, a mineral) Discovered spectroscopically by its sharp absorption lines in1879 by Lecoq de Boisbaudran in the mineral samarskite, named in honor of a Russian mineofficial, Col Samarski.


Sources

Samarium is found along with other members of the rare-earth elements in many minerals,including monazite and bastnasite, which are commercial sources. It occurs in monazite tothe extent of 2.8%. While misch metal containing about 1% of samarium metal, has long beenused, samarium has not been isolated in relatively pure form until recent years.Ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques have recently simplified separation of therare earths from one another; more recently, electrochemical deposition, using anelectrolytic solution of lithium citrate and a mercury electrode, is said to be a simple,fast, and highly specific way to separate the rare earths. Samarium metal can be producedby reducing the oxide with lanthanum.