Ytterbium

70

thulium ← ytterbium → lutetium


-
↑
Yb
↓
No




periodic table




General


Name, Symbol, Number

ytterbium, Yb, 70


Chemical series
lanthanides


Group, Period, Block

n/a, 6, f


Appearance
silvery white 



Atomic mass
173.04(3) g/mol


Electron configuration
[Xe] 4f14 6s2


Electrons per shell
2, 8, 18, 32, 8, 2


Physical properties


Phase
solid


Density (near r.t.)
6.90 g/cm³


Liquid density at m.p.
6.21 g/cm³


Melting point
1097 K
(824 °C, 1515 °F)


Boiling point
1469 K
(1196 °C, 2185 °F)


Heat of fusion
7.66 kJ/mol


Heat of vaporization
159 kJ/mol


Heat capacity
(25 °C) 26.74 J/(mol·K)




Vapor pressure


P/Pa
1
10
100
1 k
10 k
100 k


at T/K
736
813
910
1047
(1266)
(1465)



Atomic properties


Crystal structure
cubic face centered


Oxidation states
2,3
(basic oxide)


Electronegativity
? 1.1 (Pauling scale)


Ionization energies
(more)

1st: 603.4 kJ/mol


2nd: 1174.8 kJ/mol


3rd: 2417 kJ/mol


Atomic radius
175 pm


Atomic radius (calc.)
222 pm


Miscellaneous


Magnetic ordering
no data


Electrical resistivity
(r.t.) (β, poly)
0.250 µΩ·m


Thermal conductivity
(300 K) 38.5 W/(m·K)


Thermal expansion
(r.t.) (β, poly)
26.3 µm/(m·K)


Speed of sound (thin rod)
(20 °C) 1590 m/s


Speed of sound (thin rod)
(r.t.) (β form) 23.9 m/s


Shear modulus
(β form) 9.9 GPa


Bulk modulus
(β form) 30.5 GPa


Poisson ratio
(β form) 0.207


Vickers hardness
206 MPa


Brinell hardness
343 MPa


CAS registry number
7440-64-4


Notable isotopes




Main article: Isotopes of ytterbium


iso

NA

half-life

DM

DE (MeV)

DP


166Yb

syn

56.7 h

ε

0.304

166Tm


168Yb

0.13%

Yb is stable with 98 neutrons


169Yb

syn

32.026 d

ε

0.909

169Tm


170Yb

3.05%

Yb is stable with 100 neutrons


171Yb

14.3%

Yb is stable with 101 neutrons


172Yb

21.9%

Yb is stable with 102 neutrons


173Yb

16.12%

Yb is stable with 103 neutrons


174Yb

31.8%

Yb is stable with 104 neutrons


175Yb

syn

4.185 d

β-

0.470

175Lu


176Yb

12.7%

Yb is stable with 106 neutrons


177Yb

syn

1.911 h

β-

1.399

177Lu


Ytterbium (chemical symbol Yb, atomic number 70) is a soft silvery metallic rare earth element.[1] It is found in the minerals gadolinite, monazite, and xenotime. The element is sometimes associated with yttrium or other related elements and is used in certain steels. Natural ytterbium is a mix of seven stable isotopes.

Contents

1 Occurrence
2 History
3 Notable characteristics

3.1 Isotopes


4 Applications
5 Precautions
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
10 Credits



Occurrence
Ytterbium is found with other rare earth elements in several rare minerals. It is most often recovered commercially from monazite sand (~0.03 percent ytterbium). The element is also found in euxenite and xenotime. Ytterbium is normally difficult to separate from other rare earths but ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques developed in the late twentieth century have simplified separation. Known compounds of ytterbium are rare—they haven't been well characterized yet.

History
Ytterbium was discovered by the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in 1878. Marignac found a new component in the earth then known as erbia and named it ytterbia (after Ytterby, the Swedish town where he found the new erbia component). He suspected that ytterbia was a compound of a new element he called ytterbium.
In 1907, the French chemist Georges Urbain separated Marignac's ytterbia into two components, neoytterbia and lutecia. Neoytterbia would later become known as the element ytterbium and lutecia would later be known as the element lutetium. Auer von Welsbach independently isolated these elements from ytterbia at about the same time but called them aldebaranium and cassiopeium.
The chemical and physical properties of ytterbium could not be determined until 1953 when the first nearly pure ytterbium was produced.

Notable characteristics
Ytterbium is an inner transition metal (or lanthanide) that lies in period six of the periodic table, between thulium and lutetium. It is a soft, malleable, and rather ductile element that exhibits a bright silvery luster. A rare earth element, it is easily attacked and dissolved by mineral acids, slowly reacts with water, and oxidizes in air.
Ytterbium has three allotropes, called alpha, beta, and gamma. Their transformation points are at −13 °C and 795 °C. The beta form exists at room temperature and has a face-centered crystal structure while the high-temperature gamma form has a body-centered crystal structure.
Normally, the beta form has a metallic-like electrical conductivity, but becomes a semiconductor when exposed to around 16,000 atm (1.6 GPa). Its electrical resistance is tenfold larger at about 39,000 atm (3.9 GPa) but then dramatically drops to around ten percent of its room temperature resistivity value at 40,000 atm (four GPa).

Isotopes
Naturally occurring ytterbium is composed of seven stable isotopes—Yb-168, Yb-170, Yb-171, Yb-172, Yb-173, Yb-174, and Yb-176—with Yb-174 being the most abundant (31.8 percent natural abundance). 22 radioisotopes have been characterized, with the most stable being Yb-169 with a half-life of 32.026 days, Yb-175 with a half-life of 4.185 days, and Yb-166 with a half life of 56.7 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lifes that are less than two hours, and the majority of these have half lifes that are less than 20 minutes. This element also has six meta states, with the most stable being Yb-169m (t½ 46 seconds).
The isotopes of ytterbium range in atomic weight from 150.955 u (Yb-151) to 179.952 u (Yb-180). The primary decay mode before the most abundant stable isotope, Yb-174 is electron capture, and the primary mode after is beta emission. The primary decay products before Yb-174 are element 69 (thulium) isotopes, and the primary products after are element 71 (lutetium) isotopes. Of interest to modern quantum optics, the different ytterbium isotopes follow either Bose-Einstein statistics or Fermi-Dirac statistics, leading to interesting behavior in optical lattices.

Applications
One ytterbium isotope has been used as a radiation source substitute for a portable X-ray machine when electricity was not available.
This metal could also be used to help improve the grain refinement, strength, and other mechanical properties of stainless steel.
Some ytterbium alloys have been used in dentistry.
There are few other uses of this element, such as in the form of ions in active laser media.
Precautions
Although ytterbium is fairly stable, it nevertheless should be stored in closed containers to protect it from air and moisture. All compounds of ytterbium should be treated as highly toxic although initial studies appear to indicate that the danger is limited. Ytterbium compounds are, however, known to cause skin and eye irritation and may be teratogenic. Metallic ytterbium dust poses a fire and explosion hazard.

See also
Chemical element
Inner transition metal
Metal
Periodic table
Notes

↑ The term "rare earth metals" (or "rare earth elements") is a trivial name applied to 16 chemical elements: scandium, yttrium, and 14 of the 15 lanthanides (excluding promethium), which occur naturally on Earth. Some definitions also include the actinides. The word "earth" is an obsolete term for oxide. The term "rare earth" is discouraged by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), as these elements are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust.


ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Chang, Raymond. Chemistry. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math, 2006. ISBN 0073221031
Cotton, F. Albert, and Geoffrey Wilkinson. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry. 4th ed. New York: Wiley, 1980. ISBN 0-471-02775-8
Greenwood, N.N. and A. Earnshaw. Chemistry of the Elements. 2nd ed. Oxford, U.K.; Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Science, 1998. ISBN 0750633654. Online version Retrieved August 30, 2007.
Jones, Adrian P., Frances Wall, and C. Terry Williams, eds. Rare Earth Minerals: Chemistry, Origin and Ore Deposits. The Mineralogical Society Series. London, UK: Chapman and Hall, 1996. ISBN 0412610302
Stwertka, Albert. Guide to the Elements. Rev. ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-508083-1
"Ytterbium" Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chemistry Division. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
"Ytterbium" It's Elemental. Jefferson Lab. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
External links
All links retrieved October 15, 2020.

Ytterbium WebElements.com.

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