The mineralogy of Yttrium
| General Properties | |
|---|---|
| Symbol: | Y |
| Atomic Number: | 39 |
| Standard atomic weight (Ar): | 88.90585(2) |
| Electron configuration: | [Kr] 4d1 5s2 |
| Photos | ||
|---|---|---|
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| < | Yttrium | > |
| Atomic Properties | |
|---|---|
| Electronegativity (Pauling scale): | 1.22 |
| Atomic Radius: | 212 pm |
| Ionic Radius: | 90 pm (+3) |
| 1st Ionization energy: | 600 kJ/mol |
| 1st Electron affinity: | -30 kJ/mol |
| Oxidation States: | 1,2,3 |
| Physical Properties | |
|---|---|
| Standard State: | solid |
| Bonding Type: | metallic |
| Melting Point: | 1799 K |
| Boiling Point: | 3618 K |
| Density: | 4.47 g/cm3 |
| Metal/Non-Metal: | transition metal |
| Main isotopes of Yttrium | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isotope | % in Nature | Half Life | Decay type | Decay product |
| 87Y | synthetic | 3.35d | ε | 87Sr |
| 88Y | synthetic | 106.6d | ε | 88Sr |
| 89Y | 100% | stable | ||
| Main ions of Yttrium | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Ion | Example minerals | ||
| yttrium | Y3+ | Xenotime-(Y) | ||
| Other Information | |
|---|---|
| Year Discovered: | 1794 |
| Discovered By: |  Johan Gadolin |
| Year Isolated: | 1840 |
| Isolated By: |  Carl Gustav Mosander |
| Named For: |  after Ytterby, Sweden |
| CPK color coding: | #94FFFF |
| External Links: | WikipediaWebElementsLos Alamos National LaboratoryTheodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com |
| Simple Compounds and Mineral Names | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sulfides | diyttrium trisulphide | Y2S3 | +3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hydrides | yttrium dihydride | YH2 | +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| yttrium trihydride | YH3 | +3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fluorides | yttrium trifluoride | YF3 | +3 | Waimirite-(Y) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chlorides | yttrium trichloride | YCl3 | +3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bromides | yttrium tribromide | YBr3 | +3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iodides | yttrium triiodide | YI3 | +3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oxides | diyttrium trioxide | Y2O3 | +3 | Yttriaite-(Y) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mineral Diversity of Yttrium | |
|---|---|
| 3. Halides | 4 valid mineral species |
| 4. Oxides | 20 valid mineral species |
| 5. Carbonates | 28 valid mineral species |
| 6. Borates | 1 valid mineral species |
| 7. Sulfates | 8 valid mineral species |
| 8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates | 10 valid mineral species |
| 9. Silicates | 53 valid mineral species |
| 10. Organic Compounds | 1 valid mineral species |
| Total: | 125 valid species containing essential Yttrium |
| Geochemistry of Yttrium | |
|---|---|
| Goldschmidt classification: | Lithophile |
| Y3+ is enriched in Ca-Al-rich inclusions in meteorites relative to the composition of the solar system. | |
| Y3+ enters early-forming phases in igneous rocks. | |
| Y3+ is concentrated in deep-sea ferromanganese nodules relative to seawater. | |
| Elemental Abundance for Yttrium | ||
|---|---|---|
| Crust (CRC Handbook) | 3.3 x 10-5 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Kaye & Laby) | 3.5 x 10-7 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Greenwood) | 3.1 x 10-5 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Ahrens/Taylor) | 2.0 x 10-5 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Crust (Ahrens/Weaver) | 1.4 x 10-5 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor) | 2.2 x 10-5 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Upper Crust (Ahrens/Shaw) | 2.1 x 10-5 | mass fraction, kg/kg |
| Sea Water (CRC Handbook) | 1.3 x 10-11 | mass per volume fraction, kg/L |
| Sea Water (Kaye & Laby) | 1.3 x 10-12 | mass per volume fraction, kg/L |
| The Sun (Kaye & Laby) | 4.9 x 10-6 | atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 |
| Solar System (Kaye & Laby) | 4.6 x 10-6 | atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 |
| Solar System (Ahrens) | 4.64 x 10-6 (6.0%) | atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty) |
| Element association of Yttrium in the Mineral World | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Yttrium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements. The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Yttrium and the element listed for that row. The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Yttrium. The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row. Click on a heading to sort. |
| Periodic Table | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Strontium << Yttrium >> Zirconium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most widespread minerals containing Yttrium | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| This list of minerals containing Yttrium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Yttrium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species. |
| Name | Formula | Crystal System | Mindat Localities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xenotime-(Y) | Y(PO4) | Tetragonal | 1125 |
| Euxenite-(Y) | (Y,Ca,Ce,U,Th)(Nb,Ta,Ti)2O6 | Orthorhombic | 605 |
| Samarskite-(Y) | YFe3+Nb2O8 | Monoclinic | 399 |
| Fergusonite-(Y) | YNbO4 | Tetragonal | 231 |
| Gadolinite-(Y) | Y2Fe2+Be2Si2O10 | Monoclinic | 201 |
| Aeschynite-(Y) | (Y,Ln,Ca,Th)(Ti,Nb)2(O,OH)6 | Orthorhombic | 179 |
| Kainosite-(Y) | Ca2(Y,Ce)2(Si4O12)(CO3) · H2O | Orthorhombic | 119 |
| Agardite-(Y) | YCu6(AsO4)3(OH)6 · 3H2O | Hexagonal | 107 |
| Churchite-(Y) | Y(PO4) · 2H2O | Monoclinic | 92 |
| Hingganite-(Y) | (Y,REE,Ca)2(◻,Fe2+)Be2[SiO4]2(OH)2 | Monoclinic | 78 |
| Photos |
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| Localities with greatest number of different Yttrium mineral species |
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Spotted a mistake/omission? - These pages are a work in progress, so please send all comments/corrections to jolyon@mindat.org. Thank you.
Constants and physical property data from:
David R. Lide (ed.), CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 85th Edition. CRC Press. Boca Raton, Florida (2005).
Kaye and Laby Tables of Physical & Chemical Constants (2005). Section 3.1.3, Abundances of the elements
A. Earnshaw, N. Greenwood, Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, (1997)
Thomas J. Ahrens (ed.), Global Earth Physics : A Handbook of Physical Constants, American Geophysical Union (1995)
L.B. Railsback, An Earth Scientist's Periodic Table of the Elements and Their Ions : Geology 31:9 p737-740 (2003)
Emsley, J. Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. New York: Oxford University Press (2001)
