Cerium was discovered in Sweden by Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger, and independently in Germany by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, both in 1803.
Name: Cerium
Symbol: Ce
Atomic number: 58
Atomic weight: 140.12
State: solid
Group, period, block: n/a, 6, f
Color: silvery white
Classification: lanthanide
Electron configuration: 4f1 5d1 6s2
2,8,18,19,9,2
Physical properties
Density: 6.770 g/cm-3
Melting point: 1068 K,795 °C,1463 °F
Boiling point: 3716 K,3443 °C,6229 °F
Atomic properties
Oxidation states: 4, 3, 2, 1
Electronegativity: 1.12 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies: 1st: 534.4 kJ·mol-1
Covalent radius: 204±9 pm
Van der Waals radius: no data
- Ce
Electron Configuration
Isotopes
There are four naturally occurring isotopes of cerium exist, 136Ce, 138Ce, 140Ce, and 142Ce. About 88.48% of the cerium in nature is 140Ce.