Yttrium

This is the chemical element with the symbol Y and the atomic number 39. This substance has a silvery white appearance and is in the silvery-metallic transition metals group (3), very similar to the Lanthanides. This is not a free element found in nature, it is considered a rare element on earth and is usually found combined with other lanthanides in rare earth minerals. Yttrium is important in producing phosphors, which exhibits a luminescence with a slow downfall of brightness, which is the red ones in the CRT (cathrode ray tube) in a TV and in LEDs. It is also used in electrodes, electrolytes,lasers, and superconductors. Exposure to this chemical can cause lung disease in humans. You can find Yttrium in many applications, such as cubic zirconia gems, computer monitors, camera lenses and energy-efficient lighting.Yttrium is found in the most rare earth minerals.




 * Classification: || Yttrium is a transition metal & rare earth ||
 * Color: || silvery-white ||
 * Atomic weight: || 88.9059 ||
 * State: || solid ||
 * Melting point: || 1525 oC, 1798 K ||
 * Boiling point: || 3340 oC, 3613 K ||
 * Shells: || 2,8,18,9,2 ||
 * Electron configuration: || [Kr] 4d1 5s2 ||
 * Density @ 20oC: || 4.47 g/cm3 ||
 * Atomic volume: || 19.8 cm3/mol ||
 * Structure: || hcp: hexagonal close packed ||

Brief description: 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.
 * Uses**
 * YVO4 europium, and Y203 europium phosphors give the red colour in colour television tubes
 * the oxide is used to produce yttrium-iron-garnets, which are very effective microwave filters
 * yttrium iron, aluminum, and gadolinium garnets have interesting magnetic properties. Yttrium iron garnet is also exceptionally efficient as both a transmitter and transducer of acoustic energy
 * yttrium aluminium garnet is a gemstone (simulated diamond)
 * used in laser systems
 * used as a catalyst for ethene polymerization
 * potential use in ceramic and glasses as the oxide has a high melting point and imparts shock resistance and low expansion characteristics to glass
 * increases increase the strengths of alloys of metals such as chromium, aluminium, and magnesium

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


 * Symbol:** Y **Atomic Number:** 39 **Atomic Mass:** 88.90585 amu **Melting Point:** 1523.0 °C (1796.15 K, 2773.4 °F) **Boiling Point:** 3337.0 °C (3610.15 K, 6038.6 °F) **Number of Protons/Electrons:** 39 **Number of Neutrons:** 50 **Classification:** Transition Metal **Crystal Structure:** Hexagonal **Density @ 293 K:** 4.469 g/cm3 **Color:** silvery

Atomic Structure

 * [[image:http://www.chemicalelements.com/bohr/b0039.gif width="310" height="307"]] ||  || **Number of Energy Levels:** 5
 * First Energy Level:** **Second Energy Level:** **Third Energy Level:** **Fourth Energy Level:** **Fifth Energy Level:** ||

Isotopes

 * ** Isotope ** || ** Half Life ** ||
 * Y-86 || 14.74 hours ||
 * Y-87 || 3.35 days ||
 * Y-88 || 106.6 days ||
 * Y-89 || Stable ||
 * Y-90 || 2.67 days ||
 * Y-90m || 3.19 hours ||
 * Y-91 || 58.51 days ||
 * Y-91m || 49.71 minutes ||
 * Y-92 || 3.54 hours ||
 * Y-93 || 10.2 hours ||

Facts

 * Date of Discovery:**1794 - Yttrium was discovered in Sweden and an example of yttrium is found in aluminum, to strengthen it.
 * Discoverer:** Johann Gadolin
 * Name Origin:** After Ytterby (a town in Sweden)
 * Uses:** color TV's, radars
 * Obtained From:** monazite, xenotime, yettriac

__Properties__

 * A soft, silver metal
 * A transition metal in group 3
 * A pure metal

__Abundance__

 * Found in most rare earth minerals
 * Never found in nature as a free element
 * It has no biological role although it concentrates in the liver, kidneys, and bones
 * .5 milligrams found within the entire body

__Applications__

 * Used as a sensor in automotive exaust systems
 * Used in production of synthetic garnets
 * Used to enhance matericals
 * Used to sever pain-transmitting nerves in the spinal cord

Precautions
Water soluble compounds of yttrium are considered mildly toxic, while its insoluble compounds are non-toxic. In experiments on animals, yttrium and its compounds caused lung and liver damage, though toxicity varies with different yttrium compounds. In rats, inhalation of yttrium citrate caused [|pulmonary edema] and [|dyspnea], while inhalation of [|yttrium chloride] caused liver edema, [|pleural effusions] , and pulmonary hyperemia. Exposure to yttrium compounds in humans may cause lung disease. Workers exposed to airborne yttrium europium vanadate dust experienced mild eye, skin, and upper respiratory tract irritation—though this may have been caused by the [|vanadium] content rather than the yttrium. Acute exposure to yttrium compounds can cause shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, and [|cyanosis]. [|NIOSH] recommends a [|time-weighted average] limit of 1 mg/m3 and an [|IDLH] of 500 mg/m3. Yttrium dust is flammable.