Yttrium Totally Explained

Everything about Yttrium totally explained

Yttrium, is a chemical element that has the symbol Y and atomic number 39. A silvery metallic transition metal, yttrium is common in rare-earth minerals and two of its compounds are used to make the red color phosphors in cathode ray tube displays, such as those used for televisions.

Notable characteristics

Yttrium is a silver-metallic, lustrous rare earth metal that's relatively stable in air, strongly resembles scandium in appearance, and chemically resembles the lanthanides, and can appear to gain a slight pink lustre on exposure to light. Shavings or turnings of the metal can ignite in air when they exceed 400 °C. When yttrium is finely divided, it's very unstable in air. The metal has a low neutron cross-section for nuclear capture. The common oxidation state of yttrium is +3.

Applications

Yttrium(III) oxide is the most important yttrium compound and is widely used to make YV O₄:Eu and Y₂O₃:Eu phosphors that give the red color in color television picture tubes. Other uses:

Yttrium oxide is also used to make yttrium iron garnets which are very effective microwave filters.
Yttrium iron, aluminium, and gadolinium garnets (for example Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ and Y₃Al₅O₁₂) have interesting magnetic properties. Yttrium iron garnet is very efficient as an acoustic energy transmitter and transducer. Yttrium aluminium garnet has a hardness of 8.5 and is also used as a gemstone (simulated diamond).
Small amounts of the element (0.1 to 0.2%) have been used to reduce grain size of chromium, molybdenum, titanium, and zirconium. It is also used to increase the strength of aluminium and magnesium alloys.
Used as a catalyst for ethylene polymerization.
Yttrium aluminium garnet, Y₂O₃, yttrium lithium fluoride, and yttrium vanadate are used in combination with dopants such as neodymium, erbium, ytterbium in near-infrared lasers . Both crystals and ceramics are used.
It is used on the electrodes of some high-performance spark plugs.
This metal can be used to deoxidize vanadium and other non-ferrous metals.
Yttrium is also used in the manufacture of gas mantles for propane lanterns, as a replacement for thorium, which is slightly radioactive.
Cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG:Ce) crystals are used as phosphors to make white LEDs.
Yttrium-90 microspheres have shown promise as a treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.
Yttrium was used as a "secret" element in a YBCO superconductor developed at the University of Houston, YBaCuO. This superconductor operated above 90K, notable because this is above liquid nitrogen's boiling point (77.1K). (Y_1.2Ba_0.8CuO₄). The matter created was a multi-crystal multi-phase mineral, which was black and green.
Yttrium has been studied for possible use as a nodulizer in the making of nodular cast iron which has increased ductility (the graphite forms compact nodules instead of flakes to form nodular cast iron). Potentially, yttrium can be used in ceramic and glass formulas, since yttrium oxide has a high melting point and imparts shock resistance and low thermal expansion characteristics to glass.
Yttrium oxide is used to stabilize the cubic form of zirconia, for use in jewelry, etc.
Yttria (yttrium(III) oxide) is used as a sintering additive in the production of porous silicon nitride.
Yttrium-90 is used in Zevalin, which is a radioimmunotherapy directed against some types of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Precautions Compounds that contain this element are rarely encountered by most people but should be considered to be highly toxic even though many compounds pose little risk. Yttrium salts may be carcinogenic. This element isn't normally found in human tissue and plays no known biological role.

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