Samarium is a rare earth element with a hardness and density similar to zinc. Samarium has no biological role some samarium salts are slightly toxic. Samarium(II) iodide, in particular, is a common reducing agent in chemical synthesis. Other uses of samarium include catalysis of chemical reactions, radioactive dating and X-ray lasers. It also forms as a decay product during the reactor operation and is one of the important factors considered in the reactor design and operation. Another isotope, samarium-149, is a strong neutron absorber and so is added to control rods of nuclear reactors. The radioisotope samarium-153 is the active component of the drug samarium ( 153Sm) lexidronam (Quadramet), which kills cancer cells in lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and osteosarcoma. The main commercial use of samarium is in samarium–cobalt magnets, which have permanent magnetization second only to neodymium magnets however, samarium compounds can withstand significantly higher temperatures, above 700 ☌ (1,292 ☏), without losing their permanent magnetic properties. These minerals are mostly found in China, the United States, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Australia China is by far the world leader in samarium mining and production. It occurs in concentration up to 2.8% in several minerals including cerite, gadolinite, samarskite, monazite and bastnäsite, the last two being the most common commercial sources of the element. Samarium is the 40th most abundant element in Earth's crust and more common than metals such as tin. The mineral itself was named after a Russian mine official, Colonel Vassili Samarsky-Bykhovets, who thus became the first person to have a chemical element named after him, albeit indirectly. Compounds of samarium(II) are also known, most notably the monoxide SmO, monochalcogenides SmS, SmSe and SmTe, as well as samarium(II) iodide.ĭiscovered in 1879 by French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, samarium was named after the mineral samarskite from which it was isolated. Being a typical member of the lanthanide series, samarium usually has the oxidation state +3. It is a moderately hard silvery metal that slowly oxidizes in air. Samarium is a chemical element with symbol Sm and atomic number 62.
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