{"id":53,"date":"2020-04-08T14:59:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T14:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/?page_id=53"},"modified":"2023-08-16T10:24:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T10:24:29","slug":"yttrium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/yttrium\/","title":{"rendered":"Yttrium (Y)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Yttrium is a chemical element with atomic number 39 in the periodic table. This element is the most plentiful rare-earth metal found in the igneous rocks of Earth\u2019s crust after cerium<\/a>. Being a member of the transition group in the periodic table, this heavy metal has three valence electrons and forms only a few compounds. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Element 69 is typically associated with other rare-earth mineral ores. Its most practical application is in the production of red phosphor which is used in both LED and color televisions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chemical and Physical Properties of Yttrium<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Property<\/strong><\/td>Value<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
The symbol in the periodic table of elements<\/td>Y<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic number<\/td>39<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic weight (mass)<\/td>88.9059 g.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Group number<\/td>3 (Transition metals)<\/td><\/tr>
Period<\/td>5 (d-block)<\/td><\/tr>
Color<\/td>A lustrous silvery iron-gray metal<\/td><\/tr>
Physical state<\/td>Solid at room temperature<\/td><\/tr>
Half-life<\/td>From less than 170 nanoseconds to 106.616(13) days<\/td><\/tr>
Electronegativity according to Pauling<\/td>1.2<\/td><\/tr>
Density<\/td>4.47 g.cm-3 at 20\u00b0C<\/td><\/tr>
Melting point<\/td>1522\u00b0C, 2772\u00b0F, 1795 K<\/td><\/tr>
Boiling point<\/td>3345\u00b0C, 6053\u00b0F, 3618 K<\/td><\/tr>
Van der Waals radius<\/td>0.106 nm (+3)<\/td><\/tr>
Ionic radius<\/td>1.02 (+3) \u00c5<\/td><\/tr>
Isotopes<\/td>35<\/td><\/tr>
Most characteristic isotope<\/td>89Y<\/td><\/tr>
Electronic shell<\/td>[Kr] 4d15s2<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the first ionization<\/td>626 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the second ionization<\/td>1185 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the third ionization<\/td>1980 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Discovery date<\/td>In 1794 by Johan Gadolin<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Classified as a rare-earth element, yttrium is located between the elements strontium and zirconium in the periodic table, under scandium<\/a> and above lanthanum. This chemical element has the symbol Y, atomic number 39, atomic mass of 88.9059 g.mol<\/span>-1<\/span>, and electron configuration [Kr] 4d<\/span>1<\/span>5s<\/span>2<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yttrium is a soft, ductile, and silvery d-block element with excellent superconductivity. It reaches its boiling point at 3345\u00b0C, 6053\u00b0F, 3618 K, while the melting point is achieved at 1522\u00b0C, 2772\u00b0F, 1795 K. This member of the transition metals family of elements has an electronegativity of 1.2 according to Pauling, whereas the atomic radius according to van der Waals is 0.106 nm (+3).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Was Yttrium Discovered?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the early 18th century, the small village of Ytterby in Sweden became a center for the discovery of new chemical elements, especially rare-earth metals. It all began in 1787 when the Swedish officer and geologist Carl Axel Arrhenius (1757 \u2013 1824) discovered the black mineral ytterbite in a mine near Ytterby rich in feldspar and quartz ores. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Stockholm inspector of the mines Bengt Geijer analyzed the new substance, he observed a presence of iron<\/a> and possibly tungsten<\/a> in the sample. In order to obtain a more accurate analysis, Arrhenius asked the Finnish chemist and mineralogist <\/span>Johan Gadolin<\/span><\/a> (1760 \u2013 1852) to help him determine the composition of the newly discovered mineral he had labeled as <\/span>ytterbite<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in Finland, Gadolin conducted a series of experimental analyses on the sample received from the Swedish officer in 1794. Upon detailed studying of the sample, Gadolin determined that the Ytterby sample contains 31% silica, 19% alumina, 12% iron oxide, and 38% of an unknown earth element. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan Gadolin succeeded in isolating yttrium within the yttrium-iron-beryllium<\/a>-silicate mineral he observed. In 1800, Martin Klaproth named it gadolinite in honor of the Swedish chemist. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1828, the German chemist Friedrich W\u00f6hler (1800-1882) obtained the first sample of yttrium metal by heating anhydrous yttrium (III) chloride with potassium<\/a>. The result of this chemical reaction was a gray powder of the metal form of element 69. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander also studied yttrium samples in 1843. His scientific evidence pointed to the fact that the mineral consisted of three oxides: yttria, erbia, and terbia. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1953, the American chemist Frank Spedding succeeded in preparing the high purity metal of yttrium, at Ames Laboratory, Iowa, United States. For this, he utilized the ion exchange technique.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Did Yttrium Get Its Name?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yttrium is named after the village Ytterby in Sweden, which proved to be a location rich in yttrium ores and rare-earth minerals.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where Can You Find Yttrium?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Being a rare-earth element, yttrium always occurs in association with other rare-earth mineral ores, like monazite and bastnasite. Small amounts of element 69 can also be traced in the minerals barnasite, fergusonite, samarskite, laterite clays, gadolinite, euxenite, and xenotime, as well as in uranium<\/a> ores. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For commercial purposes, yttrium can be separated from the other rare-earth elements in ore by liquid-liquid or ion-exchange extraction. Also, yttrium metal is produced by the reduction of yttrium fluoride with calcium<\/a> metal.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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List of Yttrium Minerals<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The following is a list of minerals from which yttrium can also be isolated:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n