Cerium, element 58 of the periodic table.
Cerium is the most abundant rare earth metal, and along with the previously discovered yttrium element, it opens the door to the discovery of other rare earth elements.
In 1803, German scientist Klaprott found a new element oxide in a red heavy stone produced in the small Swedish city of Vastras, which appeared ochre when burning. At the same time, Swedish chemists Bezilius and Hissinger also found the oxide of the same element in the ore. Until 1875, people obtained metal cerium from molten cerium oxide by electrolysis.
Cerium metal is very active and can burn to form powdered cerium oxide. Cerium iron alloy mixed with other rare earth elements can produce beautiful sparks when rubbing against hard objects, igniting surrounding combustibles, and is a key material in ignition devices such as lighters and spark plugs. It will also burn itself, accompanied by beautiful sparks, added iron and other Lanthanide, just to enhance the effect of these sparks. A mesh made of cerium or impregnated with cerium salts can increase the effectiveness of fuel combustion and become a very excellent combustion aid, which can save fuel. Cerium is also a good glass additive, which can absorb ultraviolet and infrared rays, and is widely used in Car glass. It can not only prevent ultraviolet rays, but also reduce the temperature in the car, saving electricity for air conditioning.
More applications of cerium are based on the conversion between trivalent cerium and tetravalent cerium, which have quite unique properties in rare earth metals. This feature allows cerium to effectively store and release oxygen, which can be used in Solid oxide fuel cell to catalyze Redox, thus obtaining the directional movement of electrons to form current. Zeolites impregnated with cerium and lanthanum can serve as catalysts for petroleum cracking during the refining process. The use of cerium oxide and precious metals in automotive ternary catalytic converters can convert harmful fuel gases into pollution-free nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water, effectively preventing a large amount of automotive exhaust emissions. Due to its ability to absorb oxygen, people are also exploring how to utilize cerium oxide nanoparticles in antioxidant therapy. A solid state laser system developed by the United States contains cerium, which can be used to detect biological weapons by monitoring the concentration of Tryptophan, and can also be used for medical detection.
Because of its unique photophysical properties, cerium is also a very important catalyst, which makes cheap Cerium(IV) oxide favored by scientists in the field of catalysts. On July 27, 2018, Science magazine published a major scientific research achievement by Zuo Zhiwei’s team from the School of Material Science and Technology of ShanghaiTech University – promoting methane conversion with light. The key in the conversion process is to find a cheap and efficient Synergistic catalysis system of cerium based catalyst and alcohol catalyst, which effectively solves the scientific problem of using light energy to convert methane into liquid products at room temperature in one step, It provides a new, economical and environmentally friendly solution for the conversion of methane into high value-added chemical products, such as Rocket propellant fuel.
Post time: Aug-01-2023