Category: Transition metal
Atomic Number: 39
Period: 5 | Group: 3
Block: d-block
A "rare earth" that is not actually rare, and the reason your phone screen glows the right colours.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Density | N/A |
| Melting Point | 1799.00 K (1525.85 °C) |
| Boiling Point | 3609.00 K (3335.85 °C) |
| Heat Capacity | N/A |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic Mass | 88.9058 u |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | N/A |
| Oxidation States | +3 |
| Electron Configuration |
| Discovered By | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Discovery Year | 1794 |
| Named After | Ytterby, a Swedish village |
A black stone from Ytterby (1787)
In 1787 the Swedish army officer and amateur chemist Carl Axel Arrhenius found a heavy black mineral in a feldspar quarry at Ytterby, near Stockholm. It was later named gadolinite.
Gadolin's new earth (1794)
In 1794 the Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin analyzed the mineral and found a new oxide, or "earth", making up about 38% of it. In 1797 Anders Gustaf Ekeberg confirmed the finding and named it yttria.
Many elements from one earth
Yttria turned out to be a mixture. During the 19th century chemists separated terbium, erbium, ytterbium and other rare earths from it, and the village of Ytterby gave its name to four elements: yttrium, ytterbium, terbium and erbium. Friedrich Wöhler prepared impure yttrium metal in 1828.
| ISOTOPE | Neutrons | Natural Abundance | Half-life | Decay Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y-89 | 50 | 100% | Stable | - |
| Y-90 | 51 | - | 64.05 hr | β⁻ |
Data: IAEA Nuclear Data Section, LiveChart of Nuclides, ground-state evaluations, retrieved October 10, 2026. Abundance is the share of atoms in the natural element; a dash means the isotope has no standard natural abundance.
Phosphors and lighting
Yttrium compounds are hosts for light-emitting phosphors. Cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) converts blue light into yellow in most white LEDs, and europium-doped yttrium compounds gave the red color of cathode-ray tube televisions (yttrium oxysulfide) and fluorescent lamps (yttrium oxide).
Ceramics, lasers and superconductors
Stabilized zirconia: yttrium oxide stabilizes zirconia for heat-resistant coatings on jet engine turbine blades, oxygen sensors, fuel cells and strong white dental crowns.
Lasers: neodymium-doped YAG (Nd:YAG) lasers are used in industry, medicine and research.
Superconductors: yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO), first made in 1987, was the first material to superconduct above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.
Metals and medicine
Small amounts of yttrium strengthen magnesium and aluminum alloys and improve the oxidation resistance of high-temperature alloys. In medicine, glass or resin microspheres containing yttrium-90 are injected into the arteries of the liver to irradiate tumors from inside.
| Earth's Crust | N/A |
|---|---|
| Universe | N/A |