Understanding Yttrium: Essential Facts and Uses of This Rare Earth Element

With diverse applications across lasers, ceramics, camera lenses, and alloys, yttrium secures a vital role among rare earth elements. Its utility spans technologies from industrial equipment to consumer goods. First discovered in the 18th century, the properties and production methods of ductile, silvery yttrium metal have since been refined to enable its myriad uses. Today, innovative techniques like ion exchange extraction unlock steady supplies from rare earth ores. Driven by its unique chemical capabilities, yttrium now functions as an essential additive or catalyst in products like high-performance alloys or fluorescent lamps. Once obscure, newly uncovered properties and improved availability empower yttrium on the modern materials frontier.

Yttrium belongs to the rare earth lanthanides as element number 39, denoted Y. While exhibiting 50 isotopes, solely yttrium-89 persists stable naturally. This ductile, silvery metal shares chemical traits with its lanthanide counterparts. Yttrium never appears free in nature, instead embedding within rare earth mineral ores. Its properties resemble transition metals given its position on the periodic table. Though never isolated pure initially, improved separation techniques now extract significant pure yttrium quantities from ores. This enables yttrium’s rising utility across modern technologies.

Despite no biological role, yttrium enables diverse technological applications from LEDs to lasers. As an alloying agent or phosphor component, yttrium also occurs in electronic devices, medical equipment, and luminescent materials. However, yttrium compound exposure risks lung disease in humans. So while essential for industry, yttrium requires cautious handling.

Uncovering Yttrium: A Rare Earth Element

The village of Ytterby, Sweden yielded a novel mineral in 1787 when army lieutenant Carl Axel Arrhenius uncovered ytterbite. Believing it contained tungsten, Arrhenius named it after the discovery locale. But analysis by Johan Gadolin in 1794 revealed a new oxidized “earth” composing 38% of the sample mass instead. This rare earth oxide resisted further reduction by heating with charcoal, indicating a undiscovered element. Gadolin isolated the buried component, naming it yttrium after the source mineral. While Arrhenius pioneered the initial ytterbite excavation, Gadolin unveiled the distinct elemental nature of yttrium within. Their collaborative discovery showcased 18th century chemistry techniques, exposing an obscure rare earth metal that now claims wide utility.

Later, Swedish chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander scrutinized yttrium in 1843. His investigations unveiled three distinct oxides now called yttria, erbia and terbia. Today, these oxides correspond to white yttrium oxide, yellow terbium oxide, and rose erbium oxide. A fourth oxide emerged in 1878 as ytterbium oxide when methods improved. Mosander's work showcased that early yttrium samples contained various lanthanide impurities. His discoveries populated the fledgling rare earth element family tree.

Unearthing Rare Yttrium: Occurrence and Extraction of an Essential Element

Yttrium never manifests solo in nature, instead hiding dispersed within rare earth mineral ores. Soils retain yttrium at parts per million concentrations, while sea water incorporates minute amounts around 9 parts per trillion. Even lunar samples from Apollo missions harbor significant yttrium quantities, showcasing the element's widespread distribution. Commercial yttrium ores primarily originate from Canada, Brazil, China, Australia, Hungary and Greece deposits. Though not serving biological functions, yttrium gets absorbed in trace amounts into most organisms' tissues like liver, kidneys, lungs and bones. Studies reveal yttrium presence across edible plants as well, with highest levels reaching 100 ppm in woody seed coats. While scarce and diluted, yttrium’s vast incidence in soils, seas, rocks and living matter proves the rare earth metal resides everywhere on Earth and beyond. Advanced extraction methods now isolate yttrium from ores efficiently to support diverse modern applications, despite its perpetually low natural concentrations.

Production

Despite lower atomic weight, yttrium classifies as a heavy rare earth element based on its large ion size. This enables extraction via the same methods used for chemically similar lanthanides present in shared mineral ores like bastnäsite and monazite. Commercially, sulfuric acid first dissolves the mixed oxides, then ion exchange chromatography separates constituents. Adding oxalic acid precipitates pure yttrium oxalate, later oxidized to oxide by heating in oxygen. Conversion to yttrium fluoride follows through reaction with hydrogen fluoride. With suitable counterions present, these steps culminate in 99.999% pure yttrium salts. While production stages are complex, optimized modern procedures now yield ample pure yttrium from common rare earth deposits.

Properties

1. Silvery-metallic transition metal, soft and malleable. Has a lustrous finish that resists tarnishing.

2. Atomic number 39, located between strontium and zirconium on periodic table.

3. Atomic weight of 88.9059. Melting point of 1522°C and boiling point of 3338°C.

4. Most common oxidation state is +3. Forms compounds like halides, hydrides and oxides.

5. Has no stable isotopes, only one naturally occurring isotope - yttrium-89.

6. Used as phosphor in fluorescent lamps and LEDs due to emission of visible light.

7. Added to alloys like magnesium or aluminum to improve strength and corrosion resistance.

8. Oxide compounds can absorb microwaves and emit electrons when struck by visible light.

9. No known biological role, but small amounts occur naturally in plants, animals and humans.

Resources found primarily in rare earth minerals bastnäsite and monazite.Yttrium's versatile chemical properties, from light emission to oxide electronics to alloy enhancement, underpin its utility for a wide array of advanced materials and device applications.

Isotopes of Rare-Earth Yttrium

While exhibiting 35 characterized isotopes, yttrium's sole stable form is Y-89. Most isotopes arise from uranium fission in reactors and explosions. Yet that single durable Y-89 isotope predominates naturally, enabling all applications of this versatile element.

Applications ofRareRarthYttrium

l Phosphors - Yttrium oxides and halides used as phosphors in fluorescent lamps, LEDs, CRT displays, and lasers.

l Ceramics - Yttrium oxide used to strengthen ceramics like zirconia for high-temperature applications. Also used in glass coatings.

l Alloys - Added to magnesium, aluminum and titanium alloys to improve mechanical strength and corrosion resistance.

l Catalysts - Yttrium oxide serves as a catalyst for ethylene polymerization to produce polyethylene plastics.

l Superalloys - Yttrium improves high temperature strength in nickel- and iron-based superalloys for jet engine components.

l YAG lasers - Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) doped with neodymium produces near-infrared lasers for welding, cutting, medical uses.

l Medical imaging - Radioisotopes like yttrium-90 used in cancer radiotherapy to target tumors.

l Microwave filters - Yttrium iron garnets exhibit microwave filtering properties for mobile communications.

Conclusion

Rare-Earth Yttrium is a transition metal with atomic number 39, which is characterized as a rare-earth element. It is found naturally in the same ores as most rare earth.