Abstract
THE NEW METALS ILMENIUM AND NEPTUNIUM.—About thirty years ago R. Hermann announced the discovery of a new metal, ilmenium, accompanying tantalum and niobium in various minerals, and closely allied to them in its general characters. Several years later he relinquished his claims to the discovery, in consequence of researches by Marignac in the same field leading to entirely different results. Later investigations have, however, strengthened his belief in the existence of ilmenium, and in the February number of Kolbe's Journal für praktische Chemie he not only brings for war d results tending to establish the individual character of ilmenium, but describes a new metal, neptunium, belonging to the same group, and occurring in tantalite from Haddam, Connecticut. As the quantities obtained are small, the characteristic reactions limited, and as the spectral properties cannot be made use of, chemists will naturally reserve their opinion till confirmatory observations have been made by some other well-known investigator. The following are the essential results obtained by Hermann. The mineral was found to consist of equal portions of columbite (ROMe2O3) and ferroilmenite (RO2MeO2). By fusion with potassium bisulphate the hydrates of the metallic oxides were separated out in the following proportions:—
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Chemical Notes . Nature 15, 520–521 (1877). https://doi.org/10.1038/015520a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/015520a0