INTRODUCTION
Ytterbium is a soft, malleable, ductile metallic element with a bright, silvery luster. It is reasonably stable but reacts slowly with water to liberate hydrogen. Ytterbium ranks about 44th in natural abundance among the elements in Earth's crust.
Ytterbium was named for the town of Ytterby in Sweden, the location of a quarry that yielded several rare earth elements.
BASIC INFORMATIONS
- Atomic Number
- 70
- Atomic Mass
- 173.054
- Atomic radius
- 0.170
- Ionization energy
- 1st,2nd,3rd (4197)
- Electronic config
- 2,8,18,32,8,2
- Principal Valency
- +2
- Density g/cm³
- 6.98
- Melting point °C
- 824
- Boiling point °C
- 1196
- Type of Element
- Metal
- Electronegativity
- N/A
- Element Category
- Lanthanide series
- Appearance
- Silvery solid
- Block
- f-block
- Period
- 8
- Group
- 17
- No of Isotopes
- 34
- Occurrence
- Combine form
- Abundance in ppm
- 3.1
- Year of Discovery
- 1878
EXTRACTION
It is obtain by ion exchange process
OXIDATION STATES
+3,+2,+1 (Weakly basic)
MAJOR SOURCE
Xenotime, Euxenite, Monazite, Gadolinite
EXAMPLES OF COMPOUND PRESENT
Ytterbium oxide
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
* ytterbium with derivatives of camphor are useful reagents for analysis of optically-active organic compounds.
* It is appreciately utilize in strengthening steel (alloy), laser devices and portable X-ray.
* Ytterbium has potential applications in alloys, electronics, and magnetic materials.
