Our lab has managed to crack the code and is now shipping big chunks of 99.9% pure lanthanum free of oxides. There’s multiple steps necessary if one wishes to banish even the merest hint of pollutants which can haze the surface. One critical step is purifying argon gas to a much higher degree than usual. Normally, laboratories buy their argon from the same gas refineries that make commercial refrigerants and propane tanks. While for most uses this is perfectly serviceable, in a handful of cases even 99.99% pure argon is not good enough. That other 0.01% is air basically. Which as you probably know consists of not only oxygen but also nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor. Labs will take this gas and run it through filters to remove the oxygen but nitrogen is in most cases inert so they don’t bother. The amount of the other contaminants is so low that they’re also not worth chasing away. That one-in-one-thousand unwelcome guest that rides in along with the argon atoms, however, is still sufficient to wreak visual havoc on lanthanum.

While not the most air sensitive among the rare earths (europium takes that crown), lanthanum is nevertheless severely vulnerable to these otherwise harmless elements. Enough, at least, to dull the surface. So removing them means finding methods which can scavenge and clear them out. It is a very costly and time consuming process to get to the point where the lab technician is ready to feed into the glovebox lumps of metal to begin work.

As if that’s not enough then there is another major challenge: how to replicate this ultrapure argon gas environment long term in the domes that are bound to go to the customers? Labs are not typically in the business of packaging goods meant as consumer goods. The schools, businesses or government labs who are their typical customers tend to get these specialty items in boxes that are often comically oversized. Unsightly, as they’re meant to be purely functional, they tend to involve a series of boxes within smaller boxes like Russian dolls, each with its own unique wrapping. A simple glass dome, free of markings and meant to be an attractive presentation piece is not what white-coated lab techs are trained to handle. Asides from overcoming the reluctance to work in this more retail-oriented fashion there is also the technical aspect of how to do it effectively. In the end, the solution is perfected through trial and error. The domes need to receive their own series of pre-treatments and the glue and the manner in which it is applied and cured has to go through rounds of testing.

Achieving the holy grail of getting all of this to work out in the long run is reason to celebrate. And now that you understand a little of the work it took to make we hope you too can feel a tinge of pride in owning this absolutely flawless chunk of lanthanum metal :-)