Yttrium
Yttrium is a silvery transition metal closely associated with the rare earth elements, even though it doesn't technically belong to that block of the periodic table. It's one of four elements named after Ytterby, a tiny Swedish village whose mines proved unusually rich in new elements.
- Group · Period
- 3 · 5
- At room temp
- solid
- Melts at
- 1795 K
- Density
- 4.47 g/cm³
- Discovered
- 1794
Uses
Yttrium is a key ingredient in yttrium aluminum garnet, or YAG, crystals that form the active core of some of the most widely used solid-state lasers, employed in applications ranging from industrial metal cutting and engraving to dermatology and eye surgery. It was also historically used in the red phosphors that gave older cathode-ray tube televisions and early LED displays their red color.
Another major application is in ceramics: adding yttrium oxide to zirconia stabilizes its crystal structure and makes it exceptionally tough and resistant to cracking, which is why yttria-stabilized zirconia is used for dental crowns, artificial joint components, and premium ceramic knife blades. Yttrium also contributes to the structure of high-temperature superconducting materials studied in physics research.
History
Yttrium’s story begins in 1787, when army officer Carl Axel Arrhenius found an unusually heavy black mineral in a quarry near the Swedish village of Ytterby. Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin analyzed the mineral in 1794 and identified a new “earth,” or oxide, within it, marking the discovery of yttrium. The mineral itself later turned out to contain several other undiscovered elements as well, and in the decades that followed, three more new elements isolated from samples connected to the same quarry — ytterbium, terbium and erbium — were each named after the village in turn, an unusually generous naming legacy for one small mining site.
Fun facts
- Yttrium is one of four elements — along with ytterbium, terbium and erbium — named after Ytterby, the small Swedish village where their source mineral was found.
- Yttrium aluminum garnet, or YAG, crystals doped with other elements are used in powerful lasers for everything from industrial cutting to eye surgery.
- Yttrium-stabilized zirconia is tough enough to be shaped into durable dental crowns and even ceramic knife blades.
Frequently asked questions
Why is yttrium named after a village?
In the late 18th century, a mineral-rich quarry near the Swedish village of Ytterby produced an unusually dense concentration of undiscovered elements. Chemist Johan Gadolin isolated yttrium's oxide from a sample of this mineral in 1794, and the element was named directly after the village where it was found — three more elements from the same mine were later named the same way.
Is yttrium a rare earth element?
Not officially, since it sits in a different part of the periodic table, but chemically it behaves so similarly to the heavier rare earth elements that it's almost always grouped and mined alongside them in practice.
What is yttrium mainly used for today?
Its two biggest roles are in YAG laser crystals, used in industrial cutting, engraving and medical procedures, and as a stabilizer for zirconia ceramics, which makes them tough and crack-resistant enough for dental crowns and cutting tools.
Compounds
5 notable compounds containing Y
- Y3Al5O12industrial
Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG)
A synthetic garnet crystal that, when doped with neodymium or other rare-earth ions, forms the gain medium of one of the most widely used solid-state lasers.
Used for: Host crystal for Nd:YAG lasers; also cut as a diamond-simulant gemstone
- YBa2Cu3O7industrial
Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO)
A ceramic compound famous as the first material found to superconduct above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, opening the door to more practical high-temperature superconductor research.
Used for: High-temperature superconductor in research and superconducting wires/tapes
- YCl3halide
Yttrium chloride
A white, hygroscopic salt that serves as a common laboratory starting point for making other yttrium compounds and yttrium metal.
Used for: Precursor for yttrium metal production and organoyttrium chemistry
- YF3halide
Yttrium fluoride
A white, water-insoluble solid used as an optical coating material for its low refractive index and broad transparency range.
Used for: Anti-reflective optical coatings for lenses from the UV to the IR
- Y2O3oxide
Yttrium oxide
A white, high-melting refractory powder and the main commercial form in which yttrium is sold, historically used as a host for red phosphors in CRT televisions.
Used for: Red phosphor host in older displays; precursor for YAG laser crystals and ceramics
Isotopes
36 known isotopes
Swipe to see all columns →
| Isotope | Natural abundance | Half-life | Decay mode | Mass excess | Binding energy / nucleon | Decay width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y-89 stable | 100% | Stable | — | -87,711.2 keV | 8,714.01 keV | — |
Show all 36 isotopes
| Y-76 | — | 200 ns | Proton emission, Electron capture / beta-plus decay | -38,250 keV | 8,173 keV | 2.28 × 10-9 eV |
| Y-77 | — | 57 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP, Proton emission | -46,439 keV | 8,278 keV | 8.00 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-78 | — | 53 ms | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP | -52,173 keV | 8,349 keV | 8.61 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-79 | — | 14.8 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP | -57,802.94 keV | 8,416.78 keV | 3.08 × 10-17 eV |
| Y-80 | — | 30.1 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%), ECP | -61,148.16 keV | 8,454.28 keV | 1.52 × 10-17 eV |
| Y-81 | — | 70.4 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -65,712.92 keV | 8,505.9 keV | 6.48 × 10-18 eV |
| Y-82 | — | 8.30 s | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -68,064.1 keV | 8,529.28 keV | 5.50 × 10-17 eV |
| Y-83 | — | 7.08 m | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -72,205.67 keV | 8,573.66 keV | 1.07 × 10-18 eV |
| Y-84 | — | 39.5 m | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -73,894.44 keV | 8,587.78 keV | 1.93 × 10-19 eV |
| Y-85 | — | 2.68 h | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -77,842.13 keV | 8,628.15 keV | 4.73 × 10-20 eV |
| Y-86 | — | 14.74 h | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -79,283.1 keV | 8,638.43 keV | 8.60 × 10-21 eV |
| Y-87 | — | 79.8 h | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -83,018.39 keV | 8,674.85 keV | 1.59 × 10-21 eV |
| Y-88 | — | 106.626 d | Electron capture / beta-plus decay (100%) | -84,299.03 keV | 8,682.54 keV | 4.95 × 10-23 eV |
| Y-90 | — | 64.05 h | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -86,496.91 keV | 8,693.38 keV | 1.98 × 10-21 eV |
| Y-91 | — | 58.51 d | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -86,351.32 keV | 8,684.94 keV | 9.03 × 10-23 eV |
| Y-92 | — | 3.54 h | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -84,816.49 keV | 8,661.59 keV | 3.58 × 10-20 eV |
| Y-93 | — | 10.18 h | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -84,227.16 keV | 8,648.91 keV | 1.24 × 10-20 eV |
| Y-94 | — | 18.7 m | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -82,351.47 keV | 8,622.81 keV | 4.07 × 10-19 eV |
| Y-95 | — | 10.3 m | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -81,207.94 keV | 8,604.96 keV | 7.38 × 10-19 eV |
| Y-96 | — | 5.34 s | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -78,329.99 keV | 8,569.43 keV | 8.54 × 10-17 eV |
| Y-97 | — | 3.75 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (0.055%) | -76,115.46 keV | 8,541.46 keV | 1.22 × 10-16 eV |
| Y-98 | — | 0.548 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (0.33%) | -72,288.75 keV | 8,497.62 keV | 8.33 × 10-16 eV |
| Y-99 | — | 1.484 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (1.77%) | -70,643.73 keV | 8,476.69 keV | 3.07 × 10-16 eV |
| Y-100 | — | 732 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (1.02%) | -67,321.24 keV | 8,439.42 keV | 6.23 × 10-16 eV |
| Y-101 | — | 0.45 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (1.94%) | -65,054.79 keV | 8,413.33 keV | 1.01 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-102 | — | 0.36 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (4.9%) | -61,172.64 keV | 8,371.92 keV | 1.27 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-103 | — | 0.23 s | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (8%) | -58,457.03 keV | 8,342.63 keV | 1.98 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-104 | — | 197 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (34%), B-2N | -54,080 keV | 8,298 keV | 2.32 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-105 | — | 107 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission (82%) | -50,570 keV | 8,262 keV | 4.26 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-106 | — | 79 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -45,790 keV | 8,215 keV | 5.78 × 10-15 eV |
| Y-107 | — | 33.5 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -41,970 keV | 8,178 keV | 1.36 × 10-14 eV |
| Y-108 | — | 30 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | -36,780 keV | 8,129 keV | 1.52 × 10-14 eV |
| Y-109 | — | 25 ms | Beta-minus decay (100%) | -32,480 keV | 8,089 keV | 1.82 × 10-14 eV |
| Y-110 | — | — | Beta-minus decay (100%), B-2N, Beta-minus, neutron emission | — | — | — |
| Y-111 | — | — | Beta-minus decay (100%), Beta-minus, neutron emission, B-2N | — | — | — |