Submitted by Sibrina Collins / College of Arts and Sciences at Lawrence Technological University on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 13:40
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Dear Colleagues,

I hope all is well. We know that the radii generally decrease with increasing atomic number from La to Lu. However, there are two exceptions to this trend, namely Eu and Yb. Why this exception? Is it an issue of half-filled and filled f subshells? Eu [Xe]6s24f7 and Yb [Xe]6s24f14. What are your thoughts? I know very little about the lanthanides....

Sibrina Collins / College of Arts and Sciences at Lawrence Technological University
I have been doing a little more research on the topic, and apparently there is a smooth trend among the properties from La to Lu, with the exception to Eu and Yb. These elements often form a +2 oxidation state, which is common for the half-filled and filled f subshells.
Tue, 02/08/2011 - 20:47 Permalink