Lanthanum Fluoride

Lanthanum fluoride powder is a white, hygroscopic, chemically stable, high melting point, insoluble in water but soluble in acids, inorganic compound powder with many important applications. It has a wide range of applications in optics, electronics, catalysis, metallurgy, medical imaging and other fields.

Properties

Molecular weight: 195.9007 g/mol

Density: 5.936 g/cm³ (relatively high density gives it specific physical properties in some applications)

Melting point: 1493°C, it is a high melting point compound, which makes it stable in high temperature environments

Boiling point: 2330°C

Solubility: almost insoluble in water, insoluble in hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulphuric acid, but soluble in perchloric acid; in the air there is a certain degree of hygroscopicity, need to be kept airtight.

Stability: chemically stable, not easy to chemical reaction, but should avoid contact with strong oxidants, strong acids and other incompatible substances.

Optical properties: good transmittance in the visible and infrared light range, refractive index of about 1.606, low dispersion, which makes it in the optical field has important applications, can be used in the manufacture of optical glass, optical fibres, laser materials and infrared optical components.

Applications

Optical field: Lanthanum fluoride is widely used as optical material due to its good optical properties, such as used as anti-reflective coating on lenses and prisms, which can improve the imaging quality of optical instruments; it is an important raw material for the manufacture of rare-earth crystal laser materials, fluoride glass optical fibre and rare-earth infrared glass.

Chemical analysis: used in the manufacture of fluoride ion selective electrode, which can accurately measure the concentration of fluoride ions in solution, and is of great significance in the fields of environmental monitoring and water quality analysis.

Metallurgical industry: lanthanum fluoride can be used in the manufacture of special alloys and is an important raw material for the electrolytic production of lanthanum metal; in the preparation of advanced ceramics and glass, the addition of lanthanum fluoride can improve the physical properties and chemical stability of the products.

In the field of nuclear technology: used in the preparation of modern medical image display technology and scintillators required by nuclear science, playing a role in radiation detection, medical imaging, etc.; in nuclear reactors, because of its ability to withstand high temperatures and a certain degree of neutron absorption properties, it can be used as a material for control rods and other structural components.

Electronic industry: Lanthanum fluoride is used as a dielectric material in the manufacture of high-frequency and high-efficiency electronic devices, and can also be used for thin film deposition in the semiconductor industry, especially in the production of microelectronic devices and integrated circuits.

Lighting field: It is used in the manufacture of carbon electrodes for arc lamps in lighting sources.

Catalytic field: It can be used as catalyst in various chemical reactions, such as petroleum refining and organic synthesis.