Lanthanum is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element. The electronic configuration is [Xe] 5d¹ 6s². In its elemental form lanthanum 's CAS number is 7439-91-0. The lanthanum atom has a radius of 187.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Lanthanum is one of the products manufactured and distributed under the tradename AE Rare Earths. Lanthanum is the first element in the rare earth or lanthanide series. It is the model for all the other trivalent rare earths. After cerium, it is the second most abundant of the rare earths. Lanthanum is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. Lanthanum-rich lanthanide compositions have been used extensively for cracking reactions in FCC catalysts, especially to manufacture low-octane fuel for heavy crude oil.

Strontium is a Block S, Group 2, Period 5 element. The electronic configuration is [Kr] 5s2. In its elemental form strontium's CAS number is 7440-24-6. The strontium atom has a radius of 215.1.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Strontium has low tech applications as an additive to flares and pyrotechnics because of the bright crimson flame produced by its salts. Strontium is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. It also has many high technology applications because of its high refractive index as a titanate in glass, as a "getter" in electron tubes and as a dopant for numerous perovskite formulations to produce cathodes for oxygen generation or solid oxide fuel cells. Historically the primary use of strontium was to produce CRT glass for color television and computer tubes. Strontium was first discovered by A. Crawford in 1790.