The element “cerium” was discovered and named in 1803 by German scientist Martin Heinrich Klaproth and Swedish chemists Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger, in honor of the asteroid Ceres, which was discovered in 1801.
Cerium has a wide range of applications:
(1) As an additive in glass, cerium can absorb ultraviolet and infrared radiation, making it extensively utilized in automotive glass. This not only shields against ultraviolet rays but also reduces the interior temperature of vehicles, thereby conserving energy used for air conditioning. Since 1997, all automotive glass in Japan has incorporated cerium oxide, and in 1996, the United States consumed over 1,000 tons of cerium oxide for automotive glass.
(2) Cerium is currently employed in automotive exhaust gas purification catalysts, effectively preventing significant emissions of automotive exhaust gases into the atmosphere. In the United States, the consumption of cerium for this purpose constitutes one-third of the total rare earth consumption.
(3) Cerium sulfide can substitute for environmentally hazardous metals like lead and cadmium in pigments, suitable for plastic coloring, as well as in the paint, ink, and paper industries.
(4) The Ce: LiSAF laser system, a solid-state laser developed in the United States, can monitor tryptophan concentrations to detect biological weapons and has medical applications.
The versatility of cerium is evident across numerous fields, including polishing powders, hydrogen storage materials, thermoelectric materials, cerium tungsten electrodes, ceramic capacitors, piezoelectric ceramics, cerium silicon carbide abrasives, fuel cell materials, gasoline catalysts, specific permanent magnet materials, various alloy steels, and colored metals.
Post time: Dec-19-2024
