Research work on nanoparticles has created a number of avenues for their applications, which were earlier not feasible by using the basic elements in their native states. This article looks into the properties and applications of terbium oxide nanoparticles.
Terbium oxide (Tb4O7) nanoparticles are hydrophilic particles. They are available as dispersions and nanofluids. These nanoparticles are also known as diterbium trioxide and tetraterbium heptaoxide. Terbium belongs to Block F, Period 6 and oxygen belongs to the Block P, Period 2 in the periodic table.
Chemical Properties
The chemical properties of terbium oxide are given in the table below.
| Chemical Data |
| Chemical symbol |
Tb4O7 |
| CAS No |
12037-01-3 |
| Group |
Terbium 3
Oxygen 16 |
| Electronic configuration |
Terbium [Xe]4f96s2
Oxygen [He] 2s2 2p4 |
| Chemical Composition |
| Element |
Content (%) |
| Terbium |
84.79 |
| Oxygen |
14.9 |
Physical Properties
Terbium oxide nanoparticles appear in the form of a dark brown-black powder with a spherical morphology. The physical properties of terbium oxide are provided in the table below.
| Properties |
Metric |
Imperial |
| Density |
7.3 g/cm3 |
0.263 lb/in3 |
| Molar Mass |
747.69 g/mol |
- |
Thermal Properties
The thermal properties of terbium oxide nanoparticles cannot be determined as they decompose to Tb2O3 at high temperatures.
Applications
Some of the applications of terbium oxide are given below:-
- Used in the preparation of other terbium compounds due to its stability
- As an activation agent for fluorescent powders
- Composite of CeO2-Tb4O7 is used as catalytic automobile exhaust converters
- As magneto-optical recording devices and magneto-optical glasses
- Making of glass materials (with a Faraday effect) for optical and laser-based devices.
Source: AZoNano