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General
States Energies Oxidation & Electrons Appearance & Characteristics Reactions Compounds Radius Conductivity Abundance & Isotopes |
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General:
| Name: Ytterbium | Symbol: Yb |
| Type: Rare Earth, Lanthanide series | Atomic weight: 173.04 |
| Density @ 293 K: 6.97 g/cm3 | Atomic volume: 24.79 cm3/mol |
| Discovered: Ytterbium was discovered by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in 1878. He heated erbium nitrate until it decomposed and then extracted the residue, which contained an unknown white powder that he named ytterbium oxide. The pure metal was not produced until 1953. The element is named after Ytterby, a village in Sweden. Four elements are named after this town, the others being yttrium, terbium, and erbium. | |
States
| State (s, l, g): solid | |
| Melting point: 1097 K (824 oC) | Boiling point: 1473 K (1200 oC) |
Energies
| Specific heat capacity: 0.15 J g-1 K-1 | Heat of atomization: 152 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of fusion: 7.66 kJ mol-1 | Heat of vaporization : 128.90 kJ mol-1 |
| 1st ionization energy: 603.4 kJ mol-1 | 2nd ionization energy: 1176 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd ionization energy: 2415 kJ mol-1 | Electron affinity: kJ mol-1 |
Oxidation & Electrons
| Shells: 2,8,18,32,8,2 | Electron configuration: [Xe] 4f14 6s2 |
| Minimum oxidation number: 0 | Maximum oxidation number: 3 |
| Min. common oxidation no.: 0 | Max. common oxidation no.: 3 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale): 1.1 | Polarizability volume: 21.0 Å3 |
Appearance & Characteristics
| Structure: face-centered cubic | Color: silvery-white |
| Harmful effects: Ytterbium is considered to be moderately toxic. | Hardness: mohs |
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Characteristics:
Ytterbium is a bright, soft, silvery-white metal that is both ductile and malleable. It is a one of the rare earth metals. The metal tarnishes quickly in air and reacts slowly with water. It dissolves rapidly in mineral acids. |
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Uses:
Isotope 160Yb is radioactive and is used in portable x-ray machines that need no electricity. Under very high physical stress Ytterbium's electrical resistance increases by an order of magnitude. It is therefore used in stress gauges to monitor ground deformations caused by earthquakes or underground explosions. Ytterbium is used in alloys and is added to stainless steel to improve grain refinement and strength. Ytterbium fiber laser amplifiers are used in marking and engraving. Ytterbium compounds are also used as catalysts in the organic chemical industry. |
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Reactions
| Reaction with air: mild, ⇒ Yb2O3 | Reaction with 6 M HCl: mild, ⇒ H2, YbCl3 |
| Reaction with 15 M HNO3: mild, ⇒ Yb(NO3)3 | Reaction with 6 M NaOH: |
Compounds
| Oxide(s): Yb2O3 (ytterbia) | Chloride(s): YbCl2, YbCl3 |
| Hydride(s): YbH2, Yb2H5 |
Radius
| Atomic radius: 175 pm | Ionic radius (1+ ion): pm |
| Ionic radius (2+ ion): 116 pm | Ionic radius (3+ ion): 100.8 pm |
| Ionic radius (2- ion): pm | Ionic radius (1- ion): pm |
Conductivity
| Thermal conductivity: 38.5 W m-1 K-1 | Electrical conductivity: 3.7 x 106 S m-1 |
Abundance & Isotopes
| Abundance earth's crust: 3 parts per million by weight, 0.3 parts per million by moles | |
| Abundance solar system: 1 part per billion by weight, 10 parts per trillion by moles | |
| Cost, pure: $900 per 100g | |
| Cost, bulk: $ per 100g | |
| Source: Ytterbium is not found free in nature but is found in a number of minerals: mainly monazite, gadolinite euxenite and xenotime. Historically, isolation of the rare earth elements from each other has been difficult and expensive because their chemical properties are so similar. Ion exchange and solvent extraction techniques developed since the 1940's have lowered the cost of production. | |
| Isotopes: Ytterbium has 30 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 151 to 180. Of these, six are stable, 170Yb, 171Yb, 172Yb, 173Yb, 174Yb and 175Yb. The most abundant isotope is 174Yb at 31.8%. | |
