Beobachtungen an den seltenen Erden. XXXVIII. Elektrolytische Herstellung der Amalgame der seltenen Erden II. Zersetzung des Lanthanamalgams zur Gewinnung des freien Metalls

Abstract

Es wird eine Methode beschrieben, welche die elektrolytische Herstellung des Lanthanamalgams erlaubt.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE LANTHANUM AMALGAM ELECTRODE FOR PRECISE ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE MEASUREMENTS1

“…The lanthanum separated from the mercuryas a white solid consisting of lanthanum hydroxide and carbonate. Ac cording to several investigators (2,20) this separation is complete. To the precipitate 0,1 If hydrochloric acid was added and the liquid was brought to a boil.…”

The Solubility of Lanthanum in Mercury from 0°C. to 50°C.

“…This eliminates the electrolytic method of formation of both the metal and its amalgams in aqueous solutions. The amalgams have been prepared with a fair degree of success by the electrolysis of concentrated solutions of LaBr3-H20, LaCl3, or LaCl3-H20 in absolute ethyl alcohol (2,15,18). The amalgams employed in this investigation were prepared by two methods: (1) The necessary amounts of lanthanum and mercury to make 0.5 per cent, 1 per cent, 2 per cent, and 3 per cent amalgams were weighed out separately and put into a fused quartz flask.…”

“…None of the ordinary methods of quantitative analysis was found applicable, nor would hydrochloric acid react quantitatively with the amalgam in a special flask similar to that used by Hulett and de Lury (13). It was soon observed, as noted by other investigators (2,15,18,20), that lanthanum, like aluminum, completely separates from the amalgam when left exposed to the air. The lanthanum separates as the greyish white hydroxide with some basic carbonate.…”