The rotational spectrum of ScO (X-2 Sigma(+)) has been measured in the gas phase in the frequency range 30-493 GHz using a combination of Fourier transform microwave/millimeter-wave (FTM/mmW) and submillimeter direct absorption methods. This work is the first pure rotational study of this radical. Both the ground vibrational and v=1 states were observed. ScO was created from the reaction of metal vapor, produced either by a laser ablation source or a Broida-type oven, and N2O, in the former case heavily diluted in argon. Extensive hyperfine structure was observed in the FTM/mmW data, although the spin-rotation splitting was found to be small (similar to 3 MHz). In the mm-wave spectra, however, the fine and hyperfine structure was blended together, resulting in broad, single lines for a given transition N + 1 <- N. The data were analyzed in a combined fit using the very accurate hyperfine measurements of Childs and Steimle (1988), employing a Hund's case b Hamiltonian, and an improved set of rotational and centrifugal distortion constants were determined. These measurements improve the accuracy of predicted frequencies for astronomical searches by 14-18 MHz, or 16-20 km/s, in the 1 mm region - a difference of half to a full linewidth for certain interstellar sources. This work also demonstrates the capabilities of the FTM/mmW spectrometer at 61 GHz.

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Les terres rares (ETR) sont de plus en plus utilisées dans le développement des technologies de dernière génération. Leur usage est sans cesse croissant dans les pays industrialisés. Le Canada s’est récemment tourné vers l’exploitation du scandium (Sc). Il n’existe pourtant aucune donnée de surveillance biologique de l’exposition à ce contaminant et aucune étude toxicocinétique publiée pour ce métal à ce jour afin d’aider à interpréter les données de surveillance biologique. Dans le but d’explorer la toxicocinétique du Sc, des doses de 0,3 ou 1 mg /kg p.c. d’oxyde de scandium (Sc203) ont été administrées par voie intraveineuse (IV), dans la veine jugulaire, à des rats mâles Sprague-Dawley. La voie intraveineuse a été utilisée comme voie de référence et les rats mâles Sprague-Dawley ont été sélectionnés sur la base d’études toxicocinétiques antérieures. Des prélèvements séquentiels de sang sur 14 jours et des excrétas sur 21 jours ont été effectués, et les organes (foie, rate, reins, poumons, cerveau) ont été recueillis après le sacrifice des rats au jour 21. La spectrométrie de masse à plasma à couplage inductif (ICP-MS) a permis la quantification du Sc dans les différents organes et tissus. Les résultats obtenus montrent des différences dans la cinétique en fonction de la dose administrée. Dans le sang, les niveaux maximums ont été observés au premier temps de prélèvement, soit à 5 minutes post-exposition et représentent en moyenne (± écart-type) 1,1 ± 0,96 % de la dose administrée de 0,3 mg/kg p.c. et 0,31 ± 0,14 % de dose de 1 mg/kg p.c., suivie d’une élimination sanguine biphasique. À partir des profils temporels dans le sang, un temps de résidence moyen (MRTIV) du Sc dans l’organisme de 19,7 ± 5,9 et 43,4 ± 24,6 h a été calculé pour les doses de 0,3 et 1 mg/kg p.c. respectivement. Indépendamment de la dose, une rétention tissulaire a été observée en particulier dans le foie (8,9 ± 6,4% pour la dose faible et 4,6 ± 1,1% pour la dose élevée) et les poumons (10,6 ± 6,2% et 3,4 ± 2,3% respectivement) et l’excrétion n’était pas complète à 21 jours. Bien qu’une faible fraction de la dose ait été retrouvée dans l’urine (0,06 ± 0,02% et 0,02 ± 0,005% d’excrétion cumulative sur 21 jours respectivement pour la faible dose et la dose élevée), la voie fécale s’est avérée la principale voie l’élimination du Sc de l’organisme chez les rats, avec une excrétion cumulative sur 21 jours respective de 76,8 ± 5,6% et 23,8 ± 2,3% aux doses de 0,3 et 1 mg/kg p.c.. Ces résultats mettent en exergue l’importance du poumon et du foie comme sites de rétention majeure et questionnent sur le risque toxicologique chez les travailleurs exposés par inhalation. De plus, considérant la faible fraction excrétée dans l’urine, ils remettent en question l’usage de l’urine comme matrice fiable pour le suivi biologique de l’exposition aux ETR. / Rare earth elements (REEs) are increasingly used in the development of emerging technologies. Their use is constantly increasing in industrialized countries. Canada has recently turned to the exploitation of scandium (Sc). However, there are no biological monitoring data on exposure to this emerging contaminant and no published toxicokinetic studies for this metal to date to help interpret biological monitoring data. To investigate the toxicokinetics of Sc, doses of 0.3 or 1 mg/kg bw of scandium oxide (Sc2O3) were injected intravenously (IV), via the jugular vein, into male Sprague-Dawley rats. The IV route was used as the reference route and male Sprague-Dawley rats were selected based on previous toxicokinetic studies. Sequential 14-day blood and 21-day excreta samples were collected, and major organs (liver, spleen, kidney, lung, brain) were collected after sacrifice of the rats on day 21. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze Sc levels. The results obtained showed differences in the kinetics of Sc at the different doses explored. In blood, the maximum levels were observed at the first sampling time, i.e. at 5 minutes post-exposure, and represented on average (± standard deviation) 1.1 ± 0.96% of the 0.3 mg/kg bw dose and 0.31 ± 0.14 % of the 1 mg/kg bw dose, followed by a biphasic blood elimination. From the blood concentration-time profiles, a mean residence time (MRTIV) of Sc in the body of 19.7 ± 5.9 and 43.4 ± 24.6 h was calculated for the 0.3 and 1 mg/kg bw doses, respectively. Regardless of dose, tissue retention was observed particularly in the liver (8.9 ± 6.4% for the low dose and 4.6 ± 1.1% for the high dose) and lungs (10.6 ± 6.2% and 3.4 ± 2.3%, respectively) and excretion was not complete by 21 days. Although a small fraction of the dose was detected in the urine (0.06 ± 0.02% and 0.02 ± 0.005 % cumulative 21-day excretion for the low and high dose, respectively), the fecal route was the main route of elimination of Sc from the body in rats with a cumulative 21-day excretion of 76.8 ± 5.6% and 23.8 ± 2.3% at the 0.3 and 1 mg/kg bw doses, respectively. These results show the importance of the lung and liver as the main retention sites and raise questions about the toxicological risk in workers exposed by inhalation. Moreover, the low fraction of Sc excreted in urine questions its use as a reliable matrix for the biological monitoring of REE exposure.

This study reports on the physical and optical characterization of scandium oxide thin films. Thin films of scandium oxide, 20-40 nm thick, were deposited on silicon wafers, quartz slides, and silicon photodiodes by reactively sputtering scandium in an oxygen environment. These samples were characterized using ellipsometry, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray analysis. A 28.46 nm thick scandium oxide thin film was measured in the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) from 2.7 to 50 nm (459.3 to 24.8 eV) using synchrotron radiation at the Advanced Light Source Beamline 6.3.2 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In these measurements, a new method for data collection was used, in which the reflection and transmission data were collected simultaneously. Analysis of the EUV reflection and transmission data was performed using a front-side reflection, matrix-multiplication technique, which is novel among EUV analytical practice. During data analysis, a new weighting scheme was used, named "adaptive weighting". This analysis provides the first experimentally determined optical constants n and k for scandium oxide thin films from 4.5-30 nm. Also, the positions of the L2 and L3 electronic transitions of scandium oxide have been measured, at 3.069 and 3.101 nm (404.0 and 399.9 eV), respectively, while the measurements near the M transition suggest it to be at approximately 31.5 nm (39.4 eV). Comparing the electronic transition positions of scandium oxide to those of scandium show that the oxidation of scandium shifts the positions to lower energies. For L2 the shift is about 1.8 eV, for L3 the shift is about 1.4 eV, and for M the shift is about 1.9 eV. The binding energies of scandium oxide are greater than those of scandium, as is expected for an oxide compared to its parent metal. This trend in the shift of the transition positions is unexpected, and warrants further investigation.