Lanthanide

A lanthanide (/ˈlænθənaɪd/) is any of the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57–71, from lanthanum through lutetium. In the periodic table, the first fourteen (up to ytterbium) fill the 4f orbitals. Lutetium (element 71) is also often considered a lanthanide, despite being a d-block element and a transition metal. The IUPAC lists the 15 elements La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, under the collective name lanthanoid (/ˈlænθənɔɪd/), which it recommends as chemically more correct for this series.

The informal chemical symbol Ln is used in general discussions of lanthanide chemistry to refer to any lanthanide. All but one of the lanthanides are f-block elements, corresponding to the filling of the 4f electron shell. Lutetium is a d-block element (thus also a transition metal), and on this basis its inclusion has been questioned; however, like its congeners scandium and yttrium in group 3, it behaves similarly to the other 14. The term rare-earth element or rare-earth metal is often used to include the stable group 3 elements Sc, Y, and Lu in addition to the 4f elements. All lanthanide elements form trivalent cations, Ln³⁺, whose chemistry is largely determined by the ionic radius, which decreases steadily from lanthanum (La) to lutetium (Lu).

In presentations of the periodic table, the f-block elements are customarily shown as two additional rows below the main body of the table. This convention is entirely a matter of aesthetics and formatting practicality; a rarely used wide-formatted periodic table inserts the 4f and 5f series in their proper places, as parts of the table's sixth and seventh rows (periods), respectively.