描述
Lutetium, also known as lu(3+) or lutetium (iii) ion, is a member of the class of compounds known as homogeneous lanthanide compounds. Homogeneous lanthanide compounds are inorganic compounds containing only metal atoms, with the largest atom being a lanthanide atom. Lutetium can be found in a number of food items such as brazil nut, pistachio, cashew nut, and common hazelnut, which makes lutetium a potential biomarker for the consumption of these food products. Lutetium was independently discovered in 1907 by French scientist Georges Urbain, Austrian mineralogist Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach, and American chemist Charles James. All of these researchers found lutetium as an impurity in the mineral ytterbia, which was previously thought to consist entirely of ytterbium. The dispute on the priority of the discovery occurred shortly after, with Urbain and Welsbach accusing each other of publishing results influenced by the published research of the other; the naming honor went to Urbain, as he had published his results earlier. He chose the name lutecium for the new element, but in 1949 the spelling of element 71 was changed to lutetium. In 1909, the priority was finally granted to Urbain and his names were adopted as official ones; however, the name cassiopeium (or later cassiopium) for element 71 proposed by Welsbach was used by many German scientists until the 1950s .