WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements | Yttrium

Yttrium: the essentials

Yttrium has a silvery-metallic lustre. Yttrium turnings ignite in air. Yttrium is found in most rare-earth minerals. Moon rocks contain yttrium and yttrium is used as a "phosphor" to produce the red colour in television screens.

Table: basic information about and classifications of yttrium.
Name: Yttrium Symbol: Y Atomic number: 39 Atomic weight: 88.90585 (2) Standard state: solid at 298 K CAS Registry ID: 7440-65-5	Group in periodic table: 3 Group name: (none) Period in periodic table: 5 Block in periodic table: d-block Colour: silvery white Classification: Metallic

Yttrium: historical information

Yttrium was discovered by Johann Gadolin at 1794 in Finland. Origin of name: named after the village of "Ytterby" near Vaxholm in Sweden.

Yttria (yttrium oxide, Y₂O₃), was discovered by Johann Gadolin in 1794 in a mineral called gadolinite from Ytterby. Ytterby is the site of a quarry in Sweden which contains many unusual minerals containing erbium, terbium, and ytterbium as well as yttrium. Friedrich Wohler obtained the impure element in 1828 by reduction of the anhydrous chloride (YCl₃) with potassium.

Yttrium: physical properties

Melting point: 1799 [or 1526 °C (2779 °F)] K
Boiling point: 3609 [or 3336 °C (6037 °F)] K
Density of solid: 4472 kg m^-3

Ground state electron configuration: [Kr].4d¹.5s²
Shell structure: 2.8.18.9.2
Term symbol: ²D_3/2
Pauling electronegativity: 1.22 (Pauling units)
First ionisation energy: 600 kJ mol^-1
Second ionisation energy: 1180 kJ mol^-1

Isolation

Isolation: yttrium metal is available commercially so it is not normally necesary to make it in the laboratory. Yttrium is found in lathanoid minerals and the extraction of the yttrium and the lanthanoid metals from the ores is highly complex. Initially, the metals are extractedas salts from the ores by extraction with sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Modern purification techniques for these lanthanoid salt mixtures involve selective complexation techniques, solvent extractions, and ion exchange chromatography.

Pure yttrium is available through the reduction of YF₃ with calcium metal.

2YF₃ + 3Ca → 2Y + 3CaF₂

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Ca	Sc	Ti
Sr	Y	Zr
Yb	Lu	Hf

Yttrium	Yttrium
Yttrium	Yttrium
Ittrio	Ytrio
Yttrium	Itrio

Yttrium
- Essential data: names, symbol, atomic number, and atomic weight; block, period, and group in periodic table; description; standard state; registry number; and isolation
- History: meaning of name; discovery; and history of the element
- Uses
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Yttrium around us
- Geology: Abundance of elements in the universe; the sun; meteorites; Earth's crust; oceans; and streams
- Biology: Abundance in humans; biological role; and health hazards)
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Chemistry and compounds
- Compounds: halides, oxides, sulfides, hydrides, and complexes; lattice energies; and reduction potentials
- Reactions of yttrium: reactions of yttrium with air; water; halogens; acids; and bases
- Electronegativities: Pauling; Sanderson; Allred Rochow; Mulliken-Jaffe; and Allen
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Element properties
- Physics properties: Boiling point; melting point; density; molar volume; thermal conductivity; and electrical resistivity; bulk modulus; critical temperature; superconductivity temperature; hardness (mineralogical, Brinell, and Vickers); linear expansion coefficient; Poisson's ratio; reflectivity; refractive index; rigidity modulus; Young's modulus; velocity of sound
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Atom properties
- Electron shell properties: Electronic configuration; term symbol; electron affinity; ionization energies; and atomic spectra
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Nuclear properties
- Isotopes: isotope abundances; radioactive isotopes; isotope masses; nuclear spins; and nuclear magnetic moment
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1	2															3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

1 H																															2 He
3 Li	4 Be																									5 B	6 C	7 N	8 O	9 F	10 Ne
11 Na	12 Mg																									13 Al	14 Si	15 P	16 S	17 Cl	18 Ar
19 K	20 Ca															21 Sc	22 Ti	23 V	24 Cr	25 Mn	26 Fe	27 Co	28 Ni	29 Cu	30 Zn	31 Ga	32 Ge	33 As	34 Se	35 Br	36 Kr
37 Rb	38 Sr															39 Y	40 Zr	41 Nb	42 Mo	43 Tc	44 Ru	45 Rh	46 Pd	47 Ag	48 Cd	49 In	50 Sn	51 Sb	52 Te	53 I	54 Xe
55 Cs	56 Ba	57 La	58 Ce	59 Pr	60 Nd	61 Pm	62 Sm	63 Eu	64 Gd	65 Tb	66 Dy	67 Ho	68 Er	69 Tm	70 Yb	71 Lu	72 Hf	73 Ta	74 W	75 Re	76 Os	77 Ir	78 Pt	79 Au	80 Hg	81 Tl	82 Pb	83 Bi	84 Po	85 At	86 Rn
87 Fr	88 Ra	89 Ac	90 Th	91 Pa	92 U	93 Np	94 Pu	95 Am	96 Cm	97 Bk	98 Cf	99 Es	100 Fm	101 Md	102 No	103 Lr	104 Rf	105 Db	106 Sg	107 Bh	108 Hs	109 Mt	110 Ds	111 Rg	112 Cn	113 Uut	114 Fl	115 Uup	116 Lv	117 Uus	118 Uuo

Yttrium

Yttrium: the essentials

Yttrium: historical information

Yttrium: physical properties

Yttrium: orbital properties

Isolation

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