Yttrium | Chemical Element, Uses in Electronics, & Medicine (2024)

chemical element

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Also known as: Y

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yttrium (Y), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of Group 3 of the periodic table.

Yttrium is a silvery white, moderately soft, ductile metal. It is quite stable in air; rapid oxidation begins above approximately 450 °C (840 °F), resulting in Y2O3. The metal readily reacts with diluted acids—except hydrofluoric acid (HF), in which the insoluble protective layer of YF3 that forms on the surface of the metal prevents further reaction. Yttrium turnings ignite readily in air, burning white-hot. The metal is paramagnetic with a temperature-independent magnetic susceptibility between 10 and 300 K (−263 and 27 °C, or −442 and 80 °F). It becomes superconducting at 1.3 K (−271.9 °C, or −457 °F) at pressures exceeding 110 kilobars.

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In 1794 Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin isolated yttria, a new earth or metallic oxide, from a mineral found at Ytterby, Sweden. Yttria, the first rare earth to be discovered, turned out to be a mixture of oxides from which, over a span of more than a century, nine elements—yttrium, scandium (atomic number 21), and the heavy lanthanide metals from terbium (atomic number 65) to lutetium (atomic number 71)—were separated. Yttrium occurs especially in the heavy rare-earth ores, of which laterite clays, gadolinite, euxenite, and xenotime are the most important. In the igneous rocks of Earth’s crust, this element is more plentiful than any of the other rare-earth elements except cerium and is twice as abundant as lead. Yttrium also occurs in products of nuclear fission.

Stable yttrium-89 is the only naturally occurring isotope. A total of 33 (excluding nuclear isomers) radioactive isotopes of yttrium ranging in mass from 77 to 109 and half-life from 41 milliseconds (yttrium-108) to 106.63 days (yttrium-88) have been reported.

Commercially, yttrium is separated from the other rare earths by liquid-liquid or ion-exchange extraction, and the metal is produced by metallothermic reduction of the anhydrous fluoride with calcium. Yttrium exists in two allotropic (structural) forms. The α-phase is close-packed hexagonal with a = 3.6482 Å and c = 5.7318 Å at room temperature. The β-phase is body-centered cubic with a = 4.10 Å at 1,478 °C (2,692 °F).

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Yttrium and its compounds have numerous uses. Major applications include hosts for red phosphors for fluorescent lamps, colour displays, and TV screens that use cathode-ray tubes. Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) doped with other rare earths is used in lasers; yttrium iron garnet (YIG) is used for microwave filters, radars, communications, and synthetic gems; and yttrium oxide-stabilized cubic zirconia is used in oxygen sensors, structural ceramics, thermal barrier coatings, and synthetic diamonds. A major use of yttrium is in high-temperature superconducting ceramics, such as YBa2Cu3O7, which has a superconducting transition temperature of 93 K (−180 °C, or −292 °F) for electrical power transmission lines and superconducting magnets. The metal is used as an alloying addition to ferrous and nonferrous alloys for improved corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance. Yttrium compounds are used in optical glasses and as catalysts.

Yttrium behaves chemically as a typical rare-earth element having an oxidation state of +3. Its ionic radius is near the radii of dysprosium and holmium, making separation from those elements difficult. Besides the white sesquioxide, yttrium forms a series of nearly white salts including the sulfate, the trichloride, and the carbonate.

Element Properties
atomic number39
atomic weight88.90585
melting point1,522 °C (2,772 °F)
boiling point3,345 °C (6,053 °F)
specific gravity4.469 (24 °C, or 75 °F)
oxidation state+3
electron configuration[Kr]4d15s2

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

Yttrium | Chemical Element, Uses in Electronics, & Medicine (2024)

FAQs

Yttrium | Chemical Element, Uses in Electronics, & Medicine? ›

Yttrium

Yttrium
Yttrium is a chemical element; it has symbol Y and atomic number 39. It is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and has often been classified as a "rare-earth element".
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Yttrium
aluminum garnet (YAG) doped with other rare earths is used in lasers; yttrium iron garnet (YIG) is used for microwave filters, radars, communications, and synthetic gems; and yttrium oxide-stabilized cubic zirconia is used in oxygen sensors, structural ceramics, thermal barrier coatings, and synthetic diamonds.

What is yttrium used for in medicine? ›

In medicine, yttrium 90 is used to help kill cancer cells. Y-90 can be attached to antibodies to target cancer cells directly or it can be used in radioactive beads, which travel to the tumor site via arteries and shrink the tumor that way. Yttrium is also used for/in: Oxygen sensors.

What are 5 uses for yttrium? ›

Yttrium is often used as an additive in alloys. It increases the strength of aluminium and magnesium alloys. It is also used in the making of microwave filters for radar and has been used as a catalyst in ethene polymerisation. Yttrium-aluminium garnet (YAG) is used in lasers that can cut through metals.

What does yttrium do in cell phones? ›

Yttrium (Y), found in descrespignyite, is used to make the display colours in mobile phones.

Is yttrium good or bad? ›

Yttrium is mostly dangerous in the working environment, due to the fact that damps and gasses can be inhaled with air. This can cause lung embolisms, especially during long-term exposure. Yttrium can also cause cancer with humans, as it enlarges the chances of lung cancer when it is inhaled.

What is yttrium used for in electronics? ›

Yttrium and its compounds have numerous uses. Major applications include hosts for red phosphors for fluorescent lamps, colour displays, and TV screens that use cathode-ray tubes.

What cancers does yttrium treat? ›

Our surgeons use yttrium-90 internal radiation therapy to treat several types of cancer:
  • Liver Cancer.
  • Metastatic Colon Cancer.
  • Neuroendocrine Tumors.

What foods contain yttrium? ›

Outside of the human body, Yttrium is found, on average, in the highest concentration within a few different foods, such as milk (cow), spinachs, and red beetroots and in a lower concentration in yellow zucchinis, japanese pumpkins, and carrots. Yttrium has also been detected, but not quantified in, cucumbers.

How does yttrium affect humans? ›

* Yttrium can affect you when breathed in. * Yttrium can irritate the eyes on contact. * Breathing Yttrium may irritate the lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath. * Repeated exposure to Yttrium may cause permanent scarring of the lungs (pneumoconiosis).

Why is yttrium rare? ›

Yttrium is classified as a rare earth element due to its rarity on earth. It is never found as a free element but usually found in a compound with the lanthanides. Yttrium was discovered in 1787 by Carl Axel Arrhenius in the town of Ytterby, Sweden.

Is yttrium used in TVs? ›

Yttrium oxide, doped with the element europium, provided the red color on millions of color-television sets. Yttrium oxide (yttria) is added to zirconium oxide (zirconia) to make an alloy that stabilizes the crystal structure of zirconia, which ordinarily changes with temperature.

Is yttrium safe to touch? ›

* Avoid skin contact with Yttrium. Wear protective gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most protective glove/clothing material for your operation.

Why is yttrium used in LED lights? ›

LED Phosphors:

LEDs emit blue or UV light, and by combining Yttrium Oxide-based phosphors with the emitted light, a wide spectrum of colors can be achieved. This is integral for producing white light in LEDs, which is then used for general lighting and displays.

What country has the most yttrium? ›

Events, Trends, and Issues: China produced most of the world's supply of yttrium from its weathered clay ion- adsorption ore deposits in the southern Provinces—primarily Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi—and from a lesser number of deposits in Guangxi and Hunan.

Is yttrium expensive? ›

Yttrium is fairly inexpensive when compared to more rare and therefore more expensive metals such as europium and terbium.

Is yttrium on the moon? ›

Scientific element: Yttrium

The rare-earth element ignites easily in air, and has been found in rocks retrieved from the moon.

What is yttrium for arthritis? ›

The main indication is a chronic synovitis of affected knee in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Yttrium-90 (90Y), a radionuclide with an intense β-emission, is most widely used for the treatment of knee joint.

What are the side effects of yttrium injections? ›

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal/stomach pain, cough, dizziness, headache, flushing, or loss of appetite may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

What is yttrium-90 indicated for the treatment of? ›

Yttrium-90 radioembolization

This therapy is used to treat both primary and metastatic liver tumors.

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