Ce or Cerium is the rare earth metal and the most abundant member of the lanthanide series. Let us discuss cerium in this article.
Ce or cerium is the second element of the lanthanide series and it is soft, ductile, and silvery-white in colour. The f orbital of cerium is deep-seated so the 6s orbital acts as the valence orbital for the lanthanides. Due to the presence of 6s orbital, it has a relativistic effect.
In this article, we will discuss the position of cerium in the periodic table, along with its melting point, boiling point, oxidation state, ionization energy and many related facts.
Cerium symbol
The atomic symbol of Cerium is “Ce”.
Cerium period in the periodic table
Cerium belongs to period 6 in the periodic table because it has more than 54 electrons in the valence shell.
Cerium block in the periodic table
Cerium is an f-block element because the valence electrons are present in the f orbital.
Cerium group in the periodic table
The group of Cerium in the periodic table is unknown because it is all the elements in the lanthanide contraction present in between the 3rd and 4th groups of the periodic table due to lanthanide contraction.
Cerium atomic number
The atomic number of Cerium is 58, which means it has 58 protons and 58 electrons because the number of protons is always equal to the number of electrons.
Cerium atomic Weight
The atomic weight of Cerium is 140 on the 12C scale which means the weight of Cerium is the 294/12th part of the weight of the carbon element.
Cerium Electronegativity according to Pauling
The electronegativity of Cerium is 1.12 according to the Pauling scale. Ce is rare earth metal so it possesses an electropositive character which reflects in its electronegativity value.
Cerium atomic Density
The atomic density of Cerium is 6.77 g/cm3 which can be calculated by dividing the mass of Cerium by its volume.
- Density is calculated by the formula, atomic density = atomic mass / atomic volume.
- So, the atomic density of Cerium is, 140.132/ (22.4) = 6.25 g/cm3
Cerium melting point
The melting point of Cerium is 7950C or 1068K temperature because it is a ductile metal.
Cerium boiling point
The boiling point of Cerium is 32570C or 3530K.
Cerium Van der Waals radius
The Van der Waal’s radius of Cerium is 248 pm.
Cerium ionic radius
The ionic radius of Cerium is 248 pm which is the same as the covalent radius because for Cerium the cation and anion are the same and it is not an ionic molecule. Rather, it forms by the covalent interaction between two Cerium atoms.
Cerium isotopes
Elements having the same number of electrons but different mass numbers are called isotopes of the original element. Let us discuss the isotopes of Cerium.
Cerium has 49 isotopes depending on the neutral numbers which are –
- 119Ce
- 120Ce
- 121Ce
- 122Ce
- 123Ce
- 124Ce
- 125Ce
- 126Ce
- 127Ce
- 128Ce
- 129Ce
- 130Ce
- 130mCe
- 131Ce
- 131mCe
- 132Ce
- 132mCe
- 133Ce
- 133mCe
- 134Ce
- 135Ce
- 135mCe
- 136Ce
- 136mCe
- 137Ce
- 137mCe
- 138Ce
- 138mCe
- 139Ce
- 139mCe
- 140Ce
- 140mCe
- 141Ce
- 142Ce
- 143Ce
- 144Ce
- 145Ce
- 146Ce
- 147Ce
- 148Ce
- 149Ce
- 150Ce
- 151Ce
- 152Ce
- 153Ce
- 154Ce
- 155Ce
- 156Ce
- 157Ce
Among 49 isotopes only 9 isotopes of cerium are stable which are discussed below –
| Isotope | Natural Abundance | Half-life | Emitting particles | No. of Neutron |
| 134Ce | Synthetic | 3.16 d | € | 76 |
| 136Ce | 0.186% | stable | N/A | 78 |
| 138Ce | 0.251% | stable | N/A | 80 |
| 139Ce | Synthetic | 137.640 d | € | 81 |
| 140Ce | 88.449% | stable | N/A | 82 |
| 141Ce | Synthetic | 32.510 d | β | 83 |
| 142Ce | 11.114% | stable | N/A | 84 |
| 143Ce | Synthetic | 33.09 h | β | 85 |
| 144Ce | Synthetic | 284.39 d | β | 86 |
Cerium electronic shell
The shell surrounding the nucleus as per principal quantum number and holding the electrons is called an electronic shell. Let us discuss the electronic shell of Cerium.
The electronic shell distribution of Cerium is 2 8 18 19 9 2 because it has s, p, d, and f orbitals around the nucleus.
Cerium electron configurations
The electronic configuration of Cerium is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f1 5s2 5p6 5d1 6s2 because it has 58 electrons and those electrons should be placed to the nearest orbital of the nucleus s, p, d, and f orbitals and denoted as [Xe]4f15d16s2.
Cerium energy of first ionization
The first ionization value for Cerium is 534.4 KJ/mol because the electron is removed from the 6s orbital which is subject to relativistic contraction.
Cerium energy of second ionization
The 2nd ionization energy of Cerium is 1050 KJ/mol because, in the 2nd ionization, electrons are removed from the same 6s orbital. Upon 2nd ionization, Ce does not lose its stability but the 2nd electron is removed from the excited state so it requires much energy.
Cerium energy of third ionization
The third ionization energy for Cerium is 1949 KJ/mol because the third ionization occurs from 5d orbital which has a poor shielding effect so the energy required is very high.
Cerium oxidation states
Cerium shows +1, +2, +3, and +4 oxidation state (which is stable in aqueous solution) because of the availability of electrons in its 6s, 5d, and 4f orbitals and all the above oxidation state is stable for Ce.
Cerium CAS number
The CAS number of the Cerium molecule is 7440-45-1, which is given by the chemical abstracts service.
Cerium Chem Spider ID
The Chem Spider ID for Cerium is 22411. By using this number, we can evaluate all the chemical data related to the Cerium atom.
Cerium allotropic forms
Allotropes are elements or molecules with similar chemical properties but different physical properties. Let us discuss the allotropic form of Cerium.
Cerium has four allotropes depending on the temperature and they are –
- α-Cerium – it exists at a high temperature below -1260C having a face-centered cubic structure.
- β-Cerium – stable at -1500C and has a double hexagonal close-packed structure.
- γ-Cerium – stable at below 7260C and having a face-centered cubic structure
- δ-Cerium – has a body-centered cubic crystal structure and exists at above 7260C.
- There is an equilibrium that exists between β and γ cerium at 750C.
Cerium chemical classification
Cerium is classified into the following categories:
- Ce is the rare earth element
- Ce is lanthanide ductile metal
Cerium state at room temperature
Cerium exists in a solid at room temperature because it exists in the double hexagonal face-packed lattice structure.
Is Cerium paramagnetic?
Paramagnetism is the tendency of magnetization in the direction of the magnetic field. Let us see whether Cerium is paramagnetic or not.
Cerium is paramagnetic because it has one unpaired electron in its ultimate 4f and pre-ultimate 5d orbital and due to heavier elements, the magnetic moment not only depends on spin-only value but also there is some orbital contribution present.
Conclusion
Cerium is a lanthanide metal element having a variable oxidation state. Cerium (IV) oxide can be used for polishing glass and important part of the catalytic converter. Cerium metal is also used for ferrocerium lighter due to its pyrophoric properties.
Hi……I am Biswarup Chandra Dey, I have completed my Master’s in Chemistry from the Central University of Punjab. My area of specialization is Inorganic Chemistry. Chemistry is not all about reading line by line and memorizing, it is a concept to understand in an easy way and here I am sharing with you the concept about chemistry which I learn because knowledge is worth to share it.
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