Yttrium, chips

Yttrium

Yttrium is a soft, silvery, lustrous transition metal that demonstrates many properties similar to Rare Earths. Johan Gadolin discovered it in 1794, but it wasn’t until 1828 that Friedrich Wohler collected an impure sample. Pure yttrium is fairly stable in air because it forms a thin oxide layer on its surface. Fine shavings of yttrium are not stable in air because there is not enough material to form this oxide layer. Turnings of yttrium auto-ignite if heated above 400° C. Yttrium-89 is the only isotope found in nature, but at least 31 other isotopes exist. Yttrium is a trivalent (3+) ion that typically forms white compounds. It has an exceptionally high affinity for oxygen – possibly the highest of any element.Learn More