dysprosium

• Description
• General information
• Physical data
• Radii
• Electronegativities
• Solid state structure
• Temperatures
• Enthalpies
• Ionization Enthalpies
• Isotopes
• Further information

Description

The element has a metallic, bright silver lustre. It is relatively stable in air at room temperature, but dissolves readily, with the evolution of hydrogen, in mineral acids. The metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife and can be machined without sparking if overheating is avoided. It is a rare earth metal found in minerals such as xenotime, monazite and bastanite.

General information

Discoveror: Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran
Date discovered: 1886
Discovered at: France
Meaning of name: From the Greek word "dysprositos" meaning "hard to obtain"

Physical data

Standard state: solid at 298 K
Colour: silvery white
Density of solid at ambient temperature/kg m^-3: 8551
Molar volume/cm³: 19.01

Radii /pm

Atomic: 228
Covalent (single bond):
Pauling radius for the ion [Dy]^-: no data

Valence shell orbital radius maxima (R_max)

orbital	s	p	d	f
radius	207.2	no data	no data	28.3

Electronegativities

Both values are quoted on the Pauling scale.

Pauling: 1.22
Allred Rochow: 1.10

Crystal Structure

structure: hcp (hexagonal close-packed)

The following CrystalMaker image represents the solid state structure. For most elements, the most stable allotrope is illustrated. Try WebElements version 2 for interactive virtual reality and CHIME images.

Temperatures (/K)

melting point: 1680
boiling point: 2840

Enthalpies /kJ mol^-1

fusion: 11.1
vaporization: 280

single bond enthalpies:

Dy-F	Dy-Cl	Dy-Br	Dy-I	Dy-Dy
no data	no data	no data	305	no data

Ionization enthalpies /kJ mol^-1

Number	Enthalpy
1st	572
2nd	1126
3rd	2200
4th	4000
5th	5990

Isotopes

This section gives some data for naturally occurring isotopes.

Nominal mass	Accurate mass	% natural abundance
156Dy	155.924277 (8)	0.06 (1)
158Dy	157.924403 (5)	0.10 (1)
160Dy	159.925193 (4)	2.34 (6)
161Dy	160.926930 (4)	18.9 (1)
162Dy	161.926795 (4)	25.5 (2)
163Dy	162.928728 (4)	24.9 (2)
164Dy	163.929171 (4)	28.2 (2)

Further Information

• Additional information about WebElements 1.2.2
• This is a licensed copy (here is the full list) of WebElements 1.2.2 and contains a subset of the material contained within the main version of WebElements (version 2)
• For further information please try WebElements version 2
• Sheffield Chemdex: perhaps the largest internet chemistry directory
• Sheffield Chemputer: interactive chemistry calculators on the WWW