Metal Information Center

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The elemental form of those elements that have positively charged ions are commonly referred to as Metal. They account for approximately two thirds of the elements on the periodic table. Their applications are often based on properties that include tensile strength, electrical and thermal (heat) conductivity and malleability. Information, data, properties and applications are provided for the five chemical groups of metals, which are the alkali metals and alkaline earth metals (or s-block elements), the transition metals (or d-block elements), and the actinide and the lanthanide metals (or f-block elements). The lanthanide metals are also known as the rare earths. Additionally, because American Elements manufactures other technically non-metal elements in their elemental or "metallic" form, further information, data, properties and application discussion is provided for the elements commonly classified as the post-transition metals and the metalloids (or p-block elements).

High Purity Calcium Metal Alkali Metals are extremely reactive, particularly with water to form metal hydroxides. Potassium is the most reactive and Lithium is the least reactive. They include the Group I elements Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium and Cesium. They appear silvery in color and are soft compared to the transition metals. They are light in weight and have relatively low melting points. Applications tend to be based on their highly reactive state. For example, lithium has found numerous recent applications in storage of both energy (lithium ion batteries) and hydrogen.

Alkaline Earth Metals include Beryllium, Magnesium, Calcium, Strontium, Barium and Radium. Like their neighbor on the periodic table, the alkali or Group I elements, the alkali earth metals are silvery in color and relatively light in weight though they are far less reactive. Because of their lower activity and affinity for their other neighbor on the periodic table, the transition metals, they have found many applications and uses in alloys to produce lighter high strength metals.

The bulk of elemental metals are found within the forty transition metals which include what are commonly referred to as the base metals, such as lead, iron, nickel, tin and copper and the precious or noble metals, such as silver, gold, platinum and iridium. They are the most abundant and easiest to mine and refine of the metal groups. Due to their ease of extraction, they were the first metals to be mined, refined and commercially used by humans. Because they are of higher density than the s-block elements, they exhibit greater strength, higher melting points, and higher density and tensile strength.

The lanthanide or rare earth metals include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium. Scandium and yttrium are also sometimes included in this group in that they share many properties. They appear much like the transition metals, silvery metallic, and find many similar applications. Lanthanum and cerium are used in many alloying, electronic, glass, fuel cell and ceramic applications. Neodymium, praseodymium, erbium and dysprosium ions emit and absorb wave lengths within the visual light range making them useful in applications as varied as welding goggles to fiber optics to to medical lasers. Promethium is the one lanthanide that does not naturally occur.

The actinides are a group of radioactive elements of which only uranium, thorium and actinium naturally exist on Earth in appreciable quantities.

The post-transition metals or p-block elements are extremely soft low melting metals that include the semi-liquid metal gallium and indium, tin, thallium, lead, bismuth, radioactive polonium, germanium and antimony. They are used extensively in the formation of various electronic and optical crystalline materials; particularly when formed with tellurium and selenium in such materials as gallium telluride and lead selenide. They are the basis for many new solar energy materials.

The metalloids are the basis for most commercial semi conducting materials. They include boron, silicon, arsenic and tellurium. Some group the post-transition metals germanium, antimony and polonium among this group.

Highly stable low oxidizing metals such as gold, iridium, aluminum and titanium are used in a host of medical applications, such as to create body implants and in regenerative medicine.

Metal purities available include 99%, 99.9%, 99.99%, 99.999% and 99.9999% which are sometimes referred to as 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N and 6N. Physical properties $AE X-Ray Diffraction Unit for crystal structure analysis and certification$ include nanopowder, nano particle, submicron, - 325 mesh, rod, foil, and high surface area metals with particle distribution and particle size controlled and certified. We produce larger - 40 mesh, - 100 mesh, -200 mesh range sizes and < 0.5 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm and other mm size shot, granules, lump, flake and pieces, too.

American Elements also produces stable isotopes of numerous metals, such as iron-58, magnesium-25, calcium-42, copper-63 and lithium-6.

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