Scandium and Its Materials Applications

Scandium (Sc), yttrium (Y), and the 15 lanthanides belong to group 3 in the periodic table of elements; the main chemical properties are similar to those of lanthanum. These 17 elements are called rare earth elements. However, there are no 4f electrons in the Sc atomic structure, and with the small number of electron shells in the atom, the ionic radius is much smaller than for the other rare earth elements. As such, the properties are quite different from those of other rare earth elements. Additionally, the lanthanide minerals that are rarely associated with scandium, and if any exists, it is dispersed and difficult to recycle, therefore, it is difficult to find scandium products in the general rare earth production process.