Scandium

Scandium is a silvery-white metal which develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast upon exposure to air. It is relatively soft, and resembles yttrium and the rare-earth metals more than it resembles aluminium or titanium. Scandium reacts rapidly with many acids.

Scandium is apparently a much more abundant element in the sun and certain stars than on earth.

Scandium was discovered in 1876 by Lars Fredrik Nilson, in Uppsala, Sweden, through the study of the [|euxenite] ore, although its existence had already been inferred by [|Dimitri Mendeleev] in 1868, based in its Periodic Table of the Elements. It is not a rare element, being twice more abundant than [|boron]. However, it is extremely difficult to obtain in a pure state, so its chemistry is not very well known. After its discovery, scandium was treated just as like a rare-earth, due to its common characteristics. However, the discovery of new physical and chemical properties, claimed different treatment for this element. Metallic scandium was first prepared in 1937, by Fischer and collaborators, through the electrolysis of scandium chloride in a mixture of several melted salts. However, the obtained product still contained about 5% of sludge, mainly [|iron] and [|silicon].

**Scandium** is a chemical element with symbol **Sc** and atomic number 21. A silvery-white metallic transition metal, it has historically been sometimes classified as a rare earth element , together with yttrium and the lanthanoids. It was discovered in 1879 by spectral analysis of the minerals [|euxenite] and gadolinite from Scandinavia. Scandium is present in most of the deposits of rare earth and uranium compounds, but it is extracted from these ores in only a few mines worldwide. Because of the low availability and the difficulties in the preparation of metallic scandium, which was first done in 1937, it took until the 1970s before applications for scandium were developed. The positive effects of scandium on aluminium alloys were discovered in the 1970s, and its use in such alloys remains its only major application. The properties of scandium compounds are intermediate between those of aluminium and yttrium. A diagonal relationship exists between the behavior of magnesium and scandium, just as there is between beryllium and aluminium. In the chemical compounds of the elements shown as group 3, above, the predominant oxidation state is +3.




 * Symbol:** Sc **Atomic Number:** 21 **Atomic Mass:** 44.95591 amu **Melting Point:** 1539.0 °C (1812.15 K, 2802.2 °F) **Boiling Point:** 2832.0 °C (3105.15 K, 5129.6 °F) **Number of Protons/Electrons:** 21 **Number of Neutrons:** 24 **Classification:** Transition Metal **Crystal Structure:** Hexagonal **Density @ 293 K:** 2.989 g/cm3 **Color:** silvery

Atomic Structure

 * [[image:http://www.chemicalelements.com/bohr/b0021.gif width="277" height="275"]] ||  || **Number of Energy Levels:** 4
 * First Energy Level:** **Second Energy Level:** **Third Energy Level:** **Fourth Energy Level:** ||

Isotopes

 * ** Isotope ** || ** Half Life ** ||
 * Sc-44 || 3.92 hours ||
 * Sc-45 || Stable ||
 * Sc-46 || 83.81 days ||
 * Sc-46m || 18.72 seconds ||
 * Sc-47 || 3.34 days ||
 * Sc-48 || 43.67 hours ||
 * Sc-49 || 57.3 minutes ||

Facts

 * Date of Discovery:** 1879 **Discoverer:** Lars Nilson **Name Origin:** From Scandinavia **Uses:** No uses known **Obtained From:** minerals (thortveitile, wiikite)