Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. [55] In the light of these results, compounds of scandium should be handled as compounds of moderate toxicity. Nilson prepared 2 grams of scandium oxide of high purity. Scandium chemistry is almost completely dominated by the trivalent ion, Sc3+. [50], The first scandium-based metal-halide lamps were patented by General Electric and initially made in North America, although they are now produced in all major industrialized countries. Scandium metal is a silvery-white metallic transition metal, often classified as a rare earth element (REE), together with yttrium (Y) and the 15 lanthanides (La).Scandium is a key … This material adopts a sheet-like structure that exhibits extensive bonding between the scandium(II) centers. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/science/scandium, Los Alamos National Laboratory - Scandium, scandium - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). "Element 21" redirects here. The α-phase is close-packed hexagonal with a = 3.3088 Å and c = 5.2680 Å at room temperature. The second series includes the elements yttrium (symbol Y, atomic number 39) to cadmium (symbol Cd, atomic number 48). The American firearm manufacturing company Smith & Wesson produces semi-automatic pistols and revolvers with frames of scandium alloy and cylinders of titanium or carbon steel. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [28], Lower oxidation states (+2, +1, 0) have also been observed in organoscandium compounds. Some of its behaviour, however, is atypical of the rare earths because of its significantly smaller ionic radius (1.66 Å for coordination number 12) as compared with the rare-earth average (1.82 Å for coordination number 12). Omissions? Thortveitite (a scandium silicate) is the only mineral containing large amounts of scandium, about 34 percent, but unfortunately this mineral is quite rare and is not an important source of scandium. Scandium is known as one of the rare earth elements. After Russian chemist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev in 1871 predicted this element’s existence, tentatively calling it ekaboron, Swedish chemist Lars Fredrik Nilson in 1879 discovered its oxide, scandia, in the rare-earth minerals gadolinite and euxenite, and Swedish chemist Per Teodor Cleve later in 1879 identified scandium as the hypothetical ekaboron. They were used in Russian military aircraft, specifically the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 and MiG-29. Further research showed that this was an illusion caused by the relatively low temperature (below 3,500 K) of these stars masking the abundance signals, and that this phenomenon was observable in other red giants. Scandium belongs to group IIIB of the periodic table. The absence of reliable, secure, stable, long-term production has limited the commercial applications of scandium. [citation needed], The radioactive isotope 46Sc is used in oil refineries as a tracing agent. [47] Lacrosse sticks are also made with scandium. [45], The main application of scandium by weight is in aluminium-scandium alloys for minor aerospace industry components. The third series extends…. Particularly promising is the strengthening of aluminium alloys with as little as 0.5% scandium. Despite this low level of use, scandium offers significant benefits. Scandium is a rare earth metal that is located in the 3rd group of the periodic table of chemical elements. The majority of research involving scandium is the use of scandium alloys, particularly with aluminum. Scandium exists in two allotropic (structural) forms. You may be familiar with the chemical symbols for hydrogen and oxygen, but can you match such lower-profile elements as gadolinium and erbium with their corresponding symbols? Scandium is not particularly rare and can be found in small concentrations in the Earth’s crust. Scandium metal found in rare minerals called Wolframite . Premium Membership is now 50% off! These alloys contain between 0.1% and 0.5% of scandium. Scandium (Sc), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of Group 3 of the periodic table. In part because of this similarity, scandium is often classified as a lanthanide-like element. The halides ScX3, where X= Cl, Br, or I, are very soluble in water, but ScF3 is insoluble. Extremely lightweight, scandium metal is used as an alloying element to strengthen aluminum. Elemental scandium is considered non-toxic, though extensive animal testing of scandium compounds has not been done. [26], Compounds that feature scandium in oxidation states other than +3 are rare but well characterized. [43] Both of these effects increase the usefulness of the alloy.[why?] Scandium is now produced mostly as a by-product of uranium extraction from the mineral davidite, which contains about 0.02 percent scandium oxide. [48][49], Dentists use erbium-chromium-doped yttrium-scandium-gallium garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) lasers for cavity preparation and in endodontics. Crystal Structure of α-ScOOH", "Sur l'ytterbine, terre nouvelle de M. Marignac", Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft, Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie, "Star-wars intrigue greets scandium find", Evidence against Anomalous Compositions for Giants in the Galactic Nuclear Star Cluster, "A Novel Low-Density, High-Hardness, High-entropy Alloy with Close-packed Single-phase Nanocrystalline Structures", "Easton Technology Report: Materials / Scandium", "Green Lewis acid catalysis in organic synthesis", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scandium&oldid=990274784, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from February 2020, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 23 November 2020, at 19:57. Approximately 20 kg of scandium (as Sc2O3) is used annually in the United States for high-intensity discharge lamps. Production of aluminium alloys began in 1971, following a US patent. It is fairly stable in air but will slowly change its colour from silvery white to a yellowish appearance because of formation of Sc2O3 oxide on the surface. It develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast when oxidized by air. The USGS reports that, from 2015 to 2019 in the US, the price of small quantities of scandium ingot has been $107 to $134 per gram, and that of scandium oxide $4 to $5 per gram.[23]. The blue-black compound CsScCl3 is one of the simplest. [3] Scandium borides and carbides are non-stoichiometric, as is typical for neighboring elements. Scandium is a transition metal element, which was discovered in 1879. Find out more about its uses, and also some interesting facts about this metal, in this article. When alloyed with aluminum and aluminum-based alloys, scandium limits high-temperature grain growth. Scandium triflate is sometimes used as a Lewis acid catalyst in organic chemistry. The chemistry of scandium bears a closer resemblance to that of the other rare-earth elements of oxidation state +3 than to that of aluminum or titanium. [44], The alloy Al20Li20Mg10Sc20Ti30 is as strong as titanium, light as aluminium, and hard as ceramic. Scandium-stabilized zirconia enjoys a growing market demand for use as a high-efficiency electrolyte in solid oxide fuel cells. Learn More No. Scandium is a soft metal with a silvery appearance. The scandium atom has a radius of 162 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 216 pm.Scandium was predicted by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1871 and actually discovered and isolated by Lars Nilson in 1879. For the golf company, see. The halides are Lewis acids; for example, ScF3 dissolves in a solution containing excess fluoride ion to form [ScF6]3−. 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