{"id":292,"date":"2020-04-09T10:17:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T10:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/?page_id=292"},"modified":"2023-08-15T13:13:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T13:13:09","slug":"samarium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/samarium\/","title":{"rendered":"Samarium (Sm)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Samarium is a chemical element with the atomic number 62 in the periodic table. With an abundance of 6 parts per million, it\u2019s the 40<\/span>th<\/span> most abundant chemical element in Earth\u2019s crust. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a member of the lanthanides family of periodic table elements, this rare-earth element is a divalent substance that\u2019s widely used in the electronic and metal industries. Also, many of samarium isotopes are used in medicine as a part of cancer therapy for their ability to destroy the cancer cells.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chemical and Physical Properties of Samarium<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Property<\/strong><\/td>Value<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Symbol<\/td>Sm<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic number<\/td>62<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic weight (mass)<\/td>150.35 g.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Group (number)<\/td>Lanthanides<\/td><\/tr>
Period<\/td>6 (f-block)<\/td><\/tr>
Color<\/td>Silvery color with pronounced lustre<\/td><\/tr>
Physical state<\/td>Solid at room temperature<\/td><\/tr>
Half-life<\/td>From 0.5# seconds to 7\u00d71015 years<\/td><\/tr>
Electronegativity according to Pauling<\/td>1.2<\/td><\/tr>
Density<\/td>6.9 g.cm-3 at 20\u00b0C<\/td><\/tr>
Melting point<\/td>1072\u00b0C, 1962\u00b0F, 1345 K<\/td><\/tr>
Boiling point<\/td>1794\u00b0C, 3261\u00b0F, 2067 K<\/td><\/tr>
Van der Waals radius<\/td>N\/A<\/td><\/tr>
Ionic radius<\/td>N\/A<\/td><\/tr>
Isotopes<\/td>38<\/td><\/tr>
Most characteristic isotope<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Electronic shell<\/td>[Xe] 4f6 6s2<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the first ionization<\/td>542.3 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the second ionization<\/td>1066 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Discovery date<\/td>In 1853 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, and in 1879 by Paul-\u00c9mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the periodic table symbol Sm, atomic number 62, atomic mass of 150.35 g.mol<\/span>-1<\/span>, and electron configuration <\/span> <\/b>[Xe] 4f<\/span>6<\/span> 6s<\/span>2<\/span>, samarium is a moderately soft metal with a silvery appearance. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samarium reaches its boiling point at 1794\u00b0C, 3261\u00b0F, 2067 K, while the melting point is reached at 1072\u00b0C, 1962\u00b0F, 1345 K. This member of the lanthanides family of elements has an electronegativity of 1.2 according to Pauling, whereas the atomic radius according to van der Waals is unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This lanthanide has a rhombohedral crystal structure and possesses moderate paramagnetic properties above 109 K (\u2212164 \u00b0C, \u2212263 \u00b0F). When exposed to humid air, samarium readily oxidizes by forming a gray-yellow powder containing hydroxides and oxides. Also, Sm\u00a0 spontaneously ignites at 150 \u00b0C.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Was Samarium Discovered?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1785, the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac (1817\u20131894) observed unfamiliar lines in the mineral spectra while analysing a sample of didymium. It was very clear to him that there\u2019s a new element in question, but this new element was not isolated until 1879.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After extracting \u2018didymium\u2019 from the mineral samarskite in his Paris laboratory, the French chemist Paul-\u00c9mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1838\u20131912) managed to produce \u2018didymium\u2019 nitrate solution. Next, he added ammonium hydroxide to the solution which resulted in two precipitates. One precipitate was made of didymium, while the other one was a samarium oxide. This impure oxide was identified as a new element by the sharp optical absorption lines detected by the spectroscopy method.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Did Samarium Get Its Name?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The name of this chemical element comes from the word \u201csamaria\u201d, a name of the samarium-rich mineral from which element 62 was first isolated. Later, Boisbaudran changed \u2018samaria\u2019 into \u2018samarium\u2019, thus honoring the discoverer of the mineral, the Russian mine official Colonel Vassili Samarsky-Bykhovets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where Can You Find Samarium?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This rare-earth metal often occurs along with other minerals containing lanthanides, such as monazite sand, samarskite, bastnasite, cerite, and gadolinite. For commercial purposes, samarium is isolated from these minerals by ion exchange, electrochemical deposition, and solvent extraction techniques. The richest samarium deposits are located in China, Australia, United States, India, Brazil, and Sri Lanka.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Samarium in Everyday Life<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Element 62 has many applications in the fields of radiography, interferometry, high-resolution microscopy, holography, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n