Terbium information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
 Terbium is primarily used in phosphors, particularly in fluorescent lamps and as the high intensity green emitter used in projection televisions, such as the yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Tb:YAG) variety. Terbium 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. Terbium responds efficiently in x-ray excitation and is, therefore, used as an x-ray phosphor. Terbium alloys are also used in magneto-optic recording films, such as Tb-Fe-Co.
Terbium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are
available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nanoparticles and nanopowders provide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits.
 Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Terbium is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
Terbium is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element. The number of electrons in each of Terbium's shells is 2, 8, 18, 27, 8, 2 and its electronic configuration is [Xe]4f9 6s2. In its elemental form terbium's CAS number is 7440-27-9. Terbium is considered to be somewhat toxic.The terbium atom has a radius of 176.3.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is unknown.
All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets  and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Terbium compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis.
Terbium was first discovered by Carl Mosander in 1843.
Terbium is named after "Ytterby", a town in Sweden.
 terbium |
 Terbium |
 terbio |
 Térbio |
 terbio |
 Terbium |
Terbium Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of Terbium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
| Tb-159 |
158.925 |
100 |
The following table shows the abundance of Terbium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
| Heat of Fusion |
16.3 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
391 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
390.62 kJ mol-1 |
Terbium Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for Terbium metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Terbium compounds have no biological role.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for Terbium (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
| 1st Ionization Energy |
565.77 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy |
1111.52 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy |
2114.01 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to Terbium's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured in terms of electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 116 µOcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is non-detectable. The thermal conductivity of Terbium is 11.1 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties of Terbium. The melting point and boiling point for Terbium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion |
16.3 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
391 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
390.62 kJ mol-1 |
Recent Research & Development for Terbium
Cilostazol Determination by the Enhancement of the Green Emission of Tb(3+) Optical Sensor.
Attia MS, Mahmoud WH, Youssef AO, Mostafa MS.
J Fluoresc. 2011 Aug 5. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21818537
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
[Induction-resonance energy transfer between the terbium-binding peptide and the red fluorescent proteins Dsred2 and TagRFP].
[No authors listed]
Biofizika. 2011 May-Jun;56(3):389-95. Russian.
PMID:
21786690
[PubMed - in process]
Interactions between metal ions and carbohydrates. Syntheses and spectroscopic studies of several lanthanide nitrate-d-galactitol complexes.
Yu L, Hua X, Pan Q, Yang L, Xu Y, Zhao G, Wang H, Wang H, Wu J, Liu K, Chen J.
Carbohydr Res. 2011 Jun 30. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21784418
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Characterization of the ß?-crystallin domains of ß?-CAT, a non-lens ß?-crystallin and trefoil factor complex, from the skin of the toad Bombina maxima.
Gao Q, Xiang Y, Zeng L, Ma XT, Lee WH, Zhang Y.
Biochimie. 2011 Jul 26. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21784123
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Detection of bacterial endospores in soil by terbium fluorescence.
Brandes Ammann A, Kölle L, Brandl H.
Int J Microbiol. 2011;2011:435281. Epub 2011 Jul 7.
PMID:
21754939
[PubMed]
Poly[[tetra-aqua-tris-(µ(3)-hexane-1,6-di-carboxyl-ato)diterbium(III)] 0.25-hydrate].
Li FF, Zhang HJ, Zhang LN.
Acta Crystallogr Sect E Struct Rep Online. 2011 Apr 1;67(Pt 4):m412. Epub 2011 Mar 9.
PMID:
21753944
[PubMed]
Single-Molecule Magnetic Behavior in a Neutral Terbium(III) Complex of a Picolinate-Based Nitronyl Nitroxide Free Radical.
Coronado E, Gime´nez-Saiz C, Recuenco A, Tarazo´n A, Romero FM, Camo´n A, Luis F.
Inorg Chem. 2011 Aug 15;50(16):7370-7372. Epub 2011 Jul 13.
PMID:
21751792
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Effect of terbium(iii) on the binding of aromatic guests with sodium taurocholate aggregates.
Pace TC, Souza Júnior SP, Zhang HT, Bohne C.
Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2011 Jul 12. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21750813
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Label-free colorimetric and quantitative detection of cancer marker protein using noncrosslinking aggregation of Au/Ag nanoparticles induced by target-specific peptide probe.
Wang X, Wu L, Ren J, Miyoshi D, Sugimoto N, Qu X.
Biosens Bioelectron. 2011 Aug 15;26(12):4804-9. Epub 2011 Jun 17.
PMID:
21733670
[PubMed - in process]
CeF3 and PrF3 as UV-Visible Faraday rotators.
Molina P, Vasyliev V, Víllora EG, Shimamura K.
Opt Express. 2011 Jun 6;19(12):11786-91. doi: 10.1364/OE.19.011786.
PMID:
21716411
[PubMed - in process]
A terbium-sensitized spectrofluorimetric method for determination of catecholamines in a serum sample with micelle medium.
Kamruzzaman M, Alam AM, Lee SH, Kim YH, Kim SH.
Luminescence. 2011 Jun 21. doi: 10.1002/bio.1332. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21692167
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Terbium(iii) complex as a luminescent sensor for human serum albumin in aqueous solution.
Wang X, Wang X, Wang Y, Guo Z.
Chem Commun (Camb). 2011 Jul 28;47(28):8127-9. Epub 2011 Jun 20.
PMID:
21691617
[PubMed - in process]
Efficient inhibition of germination of coat-deficient bacterial spores by multivalent metal cations, including terbium (tb3+).
Yi X, Bond C, Sarker MR, Setlow P.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011 Aug;77(15):5536-9. Epub 2011 Jun 17.
PMID:
21685163
[PubMed - in process]
Determination of carvedilol by its quenching effect on the luminescence of terbium complex in dosage form.
Leonenko I, Aleksandrova D, Yegorova A.
Acta Pol Pharm. 2011 May-Jun;68(3):325-30.
PMID:
21648186
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Luminescent Trimethoprim-Polyaminocarboxylate Lanthanide Complex Conjugates for Selective Protein Labeling and Time-Resolved Bioassays.
Reddy DR, Pedro´ Rosa LE, Miller LW.
Bioconjug Chem. 2011 Jul 20;22(7):1402-1409. Epub 2011 Jun 7.
PMID:
21619068
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Lanthanide directed self-assembly formations of Tb(III) and Eu(III) luminescent complexes from tryptophan based pyridyl amide ligands.
Lincheneau C, Leonard JP, McCabe T, Gunnlaugsson T.
Chem Commun (Camb). 2011 Jul 7;47(25):7119-21. Epub 2011 May 26.
PMID:
21614366
[PubMed - in process]
Gold nanoparticles-based fluorescence enhancement of the terbium-levofloxacin system and its application in pharmaceutical preparations.
Lee SH, Wabaidur SM, Alothman ZA, Alam SM.
Luminescence. 2011 May 24. doi: 10.1002/bio.1311. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
21608101
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Optical properties and luminescence dynamics of Eu3+-doped terbium orthophosphate nanophosphors.
Ruan Y, Xiao Q, Luo W, Li R, Chen X.
Nanotechnology. 2011 Jul 8;22(27):275701. Epub 2011 May 20.
PMID:
21597160
[PubMed - in process]
A long-lived luminescence and EPR bimodal lanthanide-based probe for free radicals.
Hong J, Zhuang Y, Ji X, Guo X.
Analyst. 2011 Jun 21;136(12):2464-70. Epub 2011 May 10.
PMID:
21556434
[PubMed - in process]
Development of a terbium complex-based luminescent probe for imaging endogenous hydrogen peroxide generation in plant tissues.
Ye Z, Chen J, Wang G, Yuan J.
Anal Chem. 2011 Jun 1;83(11):4163-9. Epub 2011 May 11.
PMID:
21548628
[PubMed - in process]
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| Formula |
Atomic Number |
Molecular Weight |
Electronegativity (Pauling) |
Density |
Melting Point |
Boiling Point |
Vanderwaals radius |
Ionic radius |
Energy of first ionization |
| Tb |
65 |
158.92534 g.mol -1 |
1.2 |
8.3 g.cm-3 at 20 °C |
1360 °C |
3041 °C |
unknown |
unknown |
563.5 kJ.mol-1 |
|
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