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Oxidation & Electrons | Appearance & Characteristics Reactions | Compounds | Radius | Conductivity Abundance & Isotopes 
NASA rocket combustion chamber. The silver-colored lining is a highly robust alloy of Nickel, Chromium, Aluminum and Yttrium (Photo: NASA) |
General:
| Name: Yttrium | Symbol: Y |
| Type: Transition Metal | Atomic weight: 88.9059 |
| Density @ 293 K: 4.47 g/cm3 | Atomic volume: 19.8 cm3/mol |
| Discovered: Yttrium was discovered by Johan Gadolin in 1794 in the mineral gadolinite. Yttrium metal was first isolated in 1828 when Friedrich Wöhler heated anhydrous yttrium (III) chloride with potassium. The element was named after the Swedish village of Ytterby, where it was mined. | |
States
| State (s, l, g): solid | |
| Melting point: 1798 K (1525 oC) | Boiling point: 3613 K (3340 oC) |
Energies
| Specific heat capacity: 0.30 J g-1 K-1 | Heat of atomization: 423 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of fusion: 11.40 kJ mol-1 | Heat of vaporization : 363.0 kJ mol-1 |
| 1st ionization energy: 615.6 kJ mol-1 | 2nd ionization energy: 1181 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd ionization energy: 1979.9 kJ mol-1 | Electron affinity: 29.6 kJ mol-1 |
Oxidation & Electrons
| Shells: 2,8,18,9,2 | Electron configuration: [Kr] 4d1 5s2 |
| Minimum oxidation number: 0 | Maximum oxidation number: 3 |
| Min. common oxidation no.: 0 | Max. common oxidation no.: 3 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale): 1.22 | Polarizability volume: 22.7 Å3 |
Appearance & Characteristics
| Structure: hcp: hexagonal close pkd | Color: silvery |
| Harmful effects: Water soluble compounds of yttrium are considered to be slightly toxic, while its insoluble compounds are considered to be non-toxic. | Hardness: mohs |
| Characteristics: Yttrium is a rare, silvery, soft, metal. It is relatively stable in air due to the formation of an oxide film on its surface. The finely divided metal ignites in air when heated. Yttrium reacts with water to forum yttrium hydroxide plus hydrogen gas. | |
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Uses:
Yttrium is often used as an additive in alloys, increasing the strength of aluminum and magnesium alloys.
It is also used as a detoxifier for non-ferrous metals such as vanadium.
It is used as a catalyst in ethylene polymerization.
Yttrium oxide is the most important compound of yttrium. It is used to make the high-temperature superconductor YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide) and it is used to produce phosphors, which provide the red color in color television tubes. Yttrium oxide is also used to make yttrium iron garnets (Y3 Fe5O12), which are very effective microwave filters. 90Yttrium, a radioactive isotope, is used in treatments for various cancers and is used in precision medical needles to sever pain-transmitting nerves in the spinal cord. |
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Reactions
| Reaction with air: vigorous, ⇒ Y2O3 | Reaction with 6 M HCl: mild, ⇒ H2, YCl3 |
| Reaction with 15 M HNO3: vigorous, ⇒ Y(NO3)3 | Reaction with 6 M NaOH: |
Compounds
| Oxide(s): Y2O3 | Chloride(s): YCl3 |
| Hydride(s): YH2, YH3 |
Radius
| Atomic radius: 180 pm | Ionic radius (1+ ion): pm |
| Ionic radius (2+ ion): pm | Ionic radius (3+ ion): 104 pm |
| Ionic radius (2- ion): pm | Ionic radius (1- ion): pm |
Conductivity
| Thermal conductivity: 17.2 W m-1 K-1 | Electrical conductivity: 1.8 x 10-6 S m-1 |
Abundance & Isotopes
| Abundance earth's crust: 33 parts per million by weight, 7.6 parts per million by moles | |
| Abundance solar system: 10 parts per billion by weight, 0.1 parts per billion by moles | |
| Cost, pure: $220 per 100g | |
| Cost, bulk: per 100g | |
| Source: Yttrium occurs in uranium ores and is present in nearly all the 'rare earth' minerals. It is recovered commercially from monazite sand and bastnaesite by reduction of the fluoride with calcium metal. | |
| Isotopes: Yttrium has 25 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 79 to 103. Of these, one is stable, 89Y. | |
