Yttrium

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Yttrium

• By S.H.
• Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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Yanni Yttrium says Whats Yttrium and what is it
used in?
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What The Heck IS This Stuff!?!?
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Who?
Gadolin's family included scientists and
clergymen both his father and maternal
grandfather were Professors of Physics at the
Royal Academy of Turku. Finland belonged at that
time to Sweden and thus it was natural for the
young Gadolin to go to the University of Uppsala
to continue his studies in chemistry under
Professor T. Bergman. Gadolin's doctoral thesis
on the analysis of iron was finished in 1781.
During 1786-88 Gadolin made an extensive study
tour in Europe visiting among others R. Kirwan in
Ireland. He was appointed in 1797 to the
chemistry professorship in Turku, a post he held
until his retirement in 1822. Most of his
publications dealt with inorganic and analytical
chemistry but he also made significant
contributions to thermochemistry.. Gadolin wrote
in 1798 "Inledning till Chemien" (Introduction to
chemistry) which is considered to be the first
antiphlogistonic textbook in Swedish.
Johan Gandolin
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What?
CAS 7440-65-5 Classification Metal Atomic
39 Atomic Mass 88.91 g/mol 89 Stable Isotopes 39
Protons 39 Electrons 50 Neutrons Electron Config
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p64d15s2 Dot Notation
Valence Electrons 4d1 5s2 Density 4.48 g/cm-3
Melting Point 1522oC 2771.6oF 1825oK Boiling
Point 3345oC 6053oF 3618oK
480 for one kilogram of pure Yttrium
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When?
Gadolin's best known achievement was in 1794 the
discovery of yttria which was a new earth element
in oxide form.
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Where?
Yttrium was present in a black mineral found
seven years earlier in Ytterby quarry near
Stockholm.
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Why?
Yttrium oxides are a component of the phosphors
used to produce the red color in television
picture tubes. The oxides have potential use in
ceramics and glass. Yttrium oxides have high
melting points and impart shock resistance and
low expansion to glass. Yttrium iron garnets are
used to filter microwaves and as transmitters and
transducers of acoustic energy. Yttrium aluminum
garnets, with a hardness of 8.5, are used to
simulate diamond gemstones. Small quantities of
yttrium may be added to reduce the grain size in
chromium, molybdenum, zirconium, and titanium,
and to increase strength of aluminum and
magnesium alloys. Yttrium is used as a deoxidizer
for vanadium and other nonferrous metals. It is
used as a catalyst in the polymerization of
ethylene.