Rare Earth Element: Yttrium

by Julissa G. Content generator

SAM®Yttrium is the first rare earth metal element that has been discovered. It is a gray-black metal that is malleable. It reacts with hot water, and is easily soluble in dilute acid. Yttrium can be used to make special glass and alloys.

Yttrium

Rare earth elements refer to all lanthanides elements plus scandium and cerium. They are called rare earth elements because 1) they are scarce in the earth’s crust and 2) their oxides are similar with earth elements such as calcium oxide. Since rare earth elements are dispersed and distributed, and their properties are very similar to each other, it is difficult to find, separate and analyzes them.

Yttrium is one of the most abundant elements of rare earth elements in the earth's crust. It mainly exists in the silicon germanium ore, black rare earth ore and xenotime, and has also been seen in monazite and fluorocarbon waste ore.

Yttrium and another rare earth element SAM®cerium are the two elements of the rare earth element which are relatively abundant in the earth's crust, and thus they are first discovered in rare earth elements (cerium after yttrium). Norway and Sweden on Scandinavia in northern Europe are rich in rare earth minerals, so these two elements were first discovered in this region.

The purity of yttrium produced in the industry is generally not less than 93.4%, and its main impurities are other rare earth elements (content: 3.8%, calcium 1.6%; iron 0.05%; copper 0.1%; bismuth or tungsten 1%). It is also possible to produce yttrium having a purity of not less than 99.8% or more. The main impurity in high purity yttrium is still other rare earth elements.

Specification

Symbol:	Y
Atomic Number:	39
Atomic Weight:	88.90585
Element Category:	transition metal
Group, Period, Block:	3, 5, d
Color:	silvery white
Other Names:	Ittrio, Itrio