Thulium

69 erbium ← thulium → ytterbium - ↑ Tm ↓ Md periodic table
General
Name, Symbol, Number	thulium, Tm, 69
Chemical series	lanthanides
Group, Period, Block	n/a, 6, f
Appearance	silvery gray
Atomic mass	168.93421(2) g/mol
Electron configuration	[Xe] 4f13 6s2
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 31, 8, 2
Physical properties
Phase	solid
Density (near r.t.)	9.32 g/cm³
Liquid density at m.p.	8.56 g/cm³
Melting point	1818 K (1545 °C, 2813 °F)
Boiling point	2223 K (1950 °C, 3542 °F)
Heat of fusion	16.84 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	247 kJ/mol
Heat capacity	(25 °C) 27.03 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P/Pa 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T/K 1117 1235 1381 1570 (1821) (2217)
Atomic properties
Crystal structure	hexagonal
Oxidation states	3 (basic oxide)
Electronegativity	1.25 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies (more)	1st: 596.7 kJ/mol
	2nd: 1160 kJ/mol
	3rd: 2285 kJ/mol
Atomic radius	175 pm
Atomic radius (calc.)	222 pm
Miscellaneous
Magnetic ordering	no data
Electrical resistivity	(r.t.) (poly) 676 nΩ·m
Thermal conductivity	(300 K) 16.9 W/(m·K)
Thermal expansion	(r.t.) (poly) 13.3 µm/(m·K)
Speed of sound (thin rod)	(r.t.) 74.0 m/s
Shear modulus	30.5 GPa
Bulk modulus	44.5 GPa
Poisson ratio	0.213
Vickers hardness	520 MPa
Brinell hardness	471 MPa
CAS registry number	7440-30-4
Notable isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of thulium iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP 167Tm syn 9.25 d ε 0.748 167Er 168Tm syn 93.1 d ε 1.679 168Er 169Tm 100% Tm is stable with 100 neutrons 170Tm syn 128.6 d β- 0.968 170Yb 171Tm syn 1.92 y β- 0.096 171Yb

Thulium (chemical symbol Tm, atomic number 69) is the least abundant of the rare earth metals. It has a bright, silvery-gray luster.

Occurrence

The element is never found in nature in pure form, but it is found in small quantities in minerals with other rare earths. It is principally extracted from monazite (~0.007 percent thulium) ores found in river sands through ion-exchange. Newer ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques have led to easier separation of the rare earths, which has yielded much lower costs for thulium production. The metal can be isolated through reduction of its oxide with lanthanum metal or by calcium reduction in a closed container. None of thulium's compounds are commercially important.

History

Thulium was discovered by Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve in 1879 by looking for impurities in the oxides of other rare earth elements (this was the same method Carl Gustaf Mosander earlier used to discover some other rare earth elements). Cleve started by removing all of the known contaminants of erbia (Er₂O₃) and upon additional processing, obtained two new substances; one brown and one green. The brown substance turned out to be the oxide of the element holmium and was named holmia by Cleve and the green substance was the oxide of an unknown element. Cleve named the oxide thulia and its element thulium after Thule, Scandinavia.

Notable characteristics

Thulium is an inner transition metal (or lanthanide) that lies in period six of the periodic table, between erbium and ytterbium. It is easy to work and can be cut by a knife. It is ductile and is somewhat resistant to corrosion in dry air.

Isotopes

Naturally occurring thulium is composed of a single stable isotope, Tm-169 (100 percent natural abundance). 31 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being Tm-171 with a half-life of 1.92 years, Tm-170 with a half-life of 128.6 days, Tm-168 with a half-life of 93.1 days, and Tm-167 with a half-life of 9.25 days. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 64 hours, and the majority of these have half lives that are less than two minutes. This element also has 14 meta states, with the most stable being Tm-164m (t_½ 5.1 minutes), Tm-160m (t_½ 74.5 seconds), and Tm-155m (t_½ 45 seconds).

The isotopes of thulium range in atomic weight from 145.966 u (Tm-146) to 176.949 u (Tm-177). The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, Tm-169, is electron capture, and the primary mode after is beta emission. The primary decay products before Tm-169 are element 68 (erbium) isotopes, and the primary products after are element 70 (ytterbium) isotopes.

Applications

Thulium has been used to create lasers, but high production costs have prevented other commercial uses from being developed. Other applications, real and potential, include:

• When stable thulium (Tm-169) is bombarded in a nuclear reactor, it can later serve as a radiation source in portable X-ray devices.
• The unstable isotope Tm-171 could possibly be used as an energy source.
• Tm-169 has potential use in ceramic magnetic materials called ferrites, which are used in microwave equipment.

Precautions

Thulium has a low-to-moderate acute toxic rating and should be handled with care. Metallic thulium in dust form presents a fire and explosion hazard.

See also

• Chemical element
• Inner transition metal
• Metal
• Periodic table

• Thulium compounds.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Chang, Raymond. Chemistry. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math, 2006. ISBN 0073221031
• Cotton, F. Albert, and Geoffrey Wilkinson. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry. 4th ed. New York: Wiley, 1980. ISBN 0-471-02775-8
• Greenwood, N.N. and A. Earnshaw. Chemistry of the Elements. 2nd ed. Oxford, U.K.; Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Science, 1998. ISBN 0750633654 Online version Retrieved September 20, 2007.
• Jones, Adrian P., Frances Wall, and C. Terry Williams, eds. Rare Earth Minerals: Chemistry, Origin and Ore Deposits. The Mineralogical Society Series. London, UK: Chapman and Hall, 1996. ISBN 0412610302
• Stwertka, Albert. Guide to the Elements. Rev. ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-508083-1
• "Thulium" Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chemistry Division. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
• "Thulium" It's Elemental. Jefferson Lab. Retrieved September 20, 2007.

External links

All links retrieved April 30, 2023.

• Thulium WebElements.com.

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