Lutetium is a chemical element with the symbol Lu and atomic number 71.
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Lutetium is a chemical element with the symbol Lu and atomic number 71.
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Lutetium is the last element in the lanthanide series, and it is traditionally counted among the rare earths.
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Lutetium is generally considered the first element of the 6th-period transition metals by those who study the matter, although there has been some dispute on this point.
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Lutetium was independently discovered in 1907 by French scientist Georges Urbain, Austrian mineralogist Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach, and American chemist Charles James.
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Lutetium chose the name lutecium for the new element, but in 1949 the spelling was changed to lutetium.
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Lutetium is not a particularly abundant element, although it is significantly more common than silver in the earth's crust.
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Lutetium usually occurs in association with the element yttrium and is sometimes used in metal alloys and as a catalyst in various chemical reactions.
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Lutetium metal is known to react with the four lightest halogens to form trihalides; all of them are soluble in water.
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Lutetium is usually found in the +3 oxidation state, like most other lanthanides.
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Lutetium salts are then selectively washed out by suitable complexing agent.
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Lutetium metal is then obtained by reduction of anhydrous LuCl3 or LuF3 by either an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal.
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Lutetium salts are known to occur together with other lanthanide salts in nature; the element is the least abundant in the human body of all lanthanides.
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