Lanthanum is a chemical element with the symbol La and atomic number 57. It is a soft, ductile, silvery-white metal that tarnishes slowly when exposed to air. It is the eponym of the lanthanide series, a group of 15 similar elements between lanthanum and lutetium in the periodic table, of which lanthanum is the first and the prototype. Lanthanum is traditionally counted among the rare earth elements. Like most other rare earth elements, the usual oxidation state is +3, although some compounds are known with oxidation state +2. Lanthanum has no biological role in humans but is essential to some bacteria. It is not particularly toxic to humans but does show some antimicrobial activity.
A metal is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typically ductile and malleable. These properties are the result of the metallic bond between the atoms or molecules of the metal.
A nickel metal hydride battery is a type of rechargeable battery. The chemical reaction at the positive electrode is similar to that of the nickel–cadmium cell (NiCd), with both using nickel oxide hydroxide (NiOOH). However, the negative electrodes use a hydrogen-absorbing alloy instead of cadmium. NiMH batteries can have two to three times the capacity of NiCd batteries of the same size, with significantly higher energy density, although much less than lithium-ion batteries.
Palladium hydride is metallic palladium that contains a substantial quantity of hydrogen within its crystal lattice. Despite its name, it is not an ionic hydride but rather an alloy of palladium with metallic hydrogen that can be written PdHx. At room temperature, palladium hydrides may contain two crystalline phases, α and β. Pure α-phase exists at x < 0.017 whereas pure β-phase is realised for x > 0.58; intermediate x values correspond to α-β mixtures.
Nickel hydride is either an inorganic compound of the formula NiHx or any of a variety of coordination complexes.
A regenerative fuel cell or reverse fuel cell (RFC) is a fuel cell run in reverse mode, which consumes electricity and chemical B to produce chemical A. By definition, the process of any fuel cell could be reversed. However, a given device is usually optimized for operating in one mode and may not be built in such a way that it can be operated backwards. Standard fuel cells operated backwards generally do not make very efficient systems unless they are purpose-built to do so as with high-pressure electrolysers, regenerative fuel cells, solid-oxide electrolyser cells and unitized regenerative fuel cells.
Lanthanum(III) oxide, also known as lanthana, chemical formula La2O3, is an inorganic compound containing the rare earth element lanthanum and oxygen. It is used in some ferroelectric materials, as a component of optical materials, and is a feedstock for certain catalysts, among other uses.
Lanthanum carbide (LaC2) is a chemical compound. It is being studied in relation to the manufacture of certain types of superconductors and nanotubes.
Several methods exist for storing hydrogen. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand. While large amounts of hydrogen are produced by various industries, it is mostly consumed at the site of production, notably for the synthesis of ammonia. For many years hydrogen has been stored as compressed gas or cryogenic liquid, and transported as such in cylinders, tubes, and cryogenic tanks for use in industry or as propellant in space programs. Interest in using hydrogen for on-board storage of energy in zero-emissions vehicles is motivating the development of new methods of storage, more adapted to this new application. The overarching challenge is the very low boiling point of H2: it boils around 20.268 K (−252.882 °C or −423.188 °F). Achieving such low temperatures requires expending significant energy.
Calcium hexaboride (sometimes calcium boride) is a compound of calcium and boron with the chemical formula CaB6. It is an important material due to its high electrical conductivity, hardness, chemical stability, and melting point. It is a black, lustrous, chemically inert powder with a low density. It has the cubic structure typical for metal hexaborides, with octahedral units of 6 boron atoms combined with calcium atoms. CaB6 and lanthanum-doped CaB6 both show weak ferromagnetic properties, which is a remarkable fact because calcium and boron are neither magnetic, nor have inner 3d or 4f electronic shells, which are usually required for ferromagnetism.
Institute for Materials Research, abbreviated IMR or Kinken, is a research institute for materials science in the Tohoku University, Japan. It consistently ranks as one of the top in ISI citations on materials research. In 2001, it ranked first in the field of materials science by ISI, PhiladelphiaArchived 2007-12-28 at the Wayback Machine.
Sodium metaborate is a chemical compound of sodium, boron, and oxygen with formula NaBO2. However, the metaborate ion is trimeric in the anhydrous solid, therefore a more correct formula is Na3B3O6 or (Na+)3[B3O6]3−. The formula can be written also as Na2O·B2O3 to highlight the relation to the main oxides of sodium and boron. The name is also applied to several hydrates whose formulas can be written NaBO2·nH2O for various values of n.
Chromium hydrides are compounds of chromium and hydrogen, and possibly other elements. Intermetallic compounds with not-quite-stoichometric quantities of hydrogen exist, as well as highly reactive molecules. When present at low concentrations, hydrogen and certain other elements alloyed with chromium act as softening agents that enables the movement of dislocations that otherwise not occur in the crystal lattices of chromium atoms.
Iron–hydrogen alloy, also known as iron hydride, is an alloy of iron and hydrogen and other elements. Because of its lability when removed from a hydrogen atmosphere, it has no uses as a structural material.
Lanthanum manganite is an inorganic compound with the formula LaMnO3, often abbreviated as LMO. Lanthanum manganite is formed in the perovskite structure, consisting of oxygen octahedra with a central Mn atom. The cubic perovskite structure is distorted into an orthorhombic structure by a strong Jahn–Teller distortion of the oxygen octahedra.
2,2-Dimethylpentane is one of the isomers of heptane. It is also called neoheptane as it contains the (CH3)3C grouping. It has the most extreme properties of the isomers.
Lanthanum decahydride is a polyhydride or superhydride compound of lanthanum and hydrogen (LaH10) that has shown evidence of being a high-temperature superconductor. It has a superconducting transition temperature TC around 250 K (−23 °C; −10 °F) at a pressure of 150 gigapascals (GPa), and its synthesis required pressures above ~160 GPa.
Carbohydrides are solid compounds in one phase composed of a metal with carbon and hydrogen in the form of carbide and hydride ions. The term carbohydride can also refer to a hydrocarbon.
A reversible solid oxide cell (rSOC) is a solid-state electrochemical device that is operated alternatively as a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC). Similarly to SOFCs, rSOCs are made of a dense electrolyte sandwiched between two porous electrodes. Their operating temperature ranges from 600°C to 900°C, hence they benefit from enhanced kinetics of the reactions and increased efficiency with respect to low-temperature electrochemical technologies.
Lanthanum forms several alloys with nickel, including LaNi5, La2Ni7, LaNi2, LaNi3, La2Ni3, LaNi and La3Ni etc.
