ytterbium
Sign in to saveYtterbium is a chemical element; it has symbol Yb and atomic number 70. It is a metal, the fourteenth element in the lanthanide series, which is the basis of the relative stability of its +2 oxidation state. Like the other lanthanides, its most common oxidation state is +3, as in its oxide, halides, and other compounds. In aqueous solution, like compounds of other late lanthanides, soluble ytterbium compounds form complexes with nine water molecules. Because of its closed-shell electron configuration, its density, melting point and boiling point are much lower than those of most other lanthani
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Ytterbium is a metallic chemical element (symbol Yb, atomic number 70) that belongs to the lanthanide series and typically exists in a +3 oxidation state, though its closed-shell electron configuration gives it unique properties compared to other lanthanides. Because of this special electron structure, ytterbium has notably lower density, melting point, and boiling point than most other elements in its group.
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Article
23 sectionsContents
- Characteristics
- Physical properties
- Chemical properties
- Yb(II) vs. Yb(III)
- Isotopes
- Occurrence
- Production
- Compounds
- Halides
- Oxides
- Borides
- History
- Applications
- Source of gamma rays
- High-stability atomic clocks
- Doping of stainless steel
- Ytterbium as dopant of active media
- Ion qubits for quantum computing
- Others
- Precautions
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Ytterbium is a chemical element; it has symbol Yb and atomic number 70. It is a metal, the fourteenth element in the lanthanide series, which is the basis of the relative stability of its +2 oxidation state. Like the other lanthanides, its most common oxidation state is +3, as in its oxide, halides, and other compounds. In aqueous solution, like compounds of other late lanthanides, soluble ytterbium compounds form complexes with nine water molecules. Because of its closed-shell electron configuration, its density, melting point and boiling point are much lower than those of most other lanthanides.
In 1878, Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac separated from the rare earth "erbia", another independent component, which he called "ytterbia", for Ytterby, the village in Sweden near where he found the new component of erbium. He suspected that ytterbia was a compound of a new element that he called "ytterbium". Four elements were named after the village, the others being yttrium, terbium, and erbium. In 1907, the new earth "lutecia" was separated from ytterbia, from which the element "lutecium", now lutetium, was extracted by Georges Urbain, Carl Auer von Welsbach, and Charles James. After some discussion, Marignac's name "ytterbium" was retained. A relatively pure sample of the metal was first obtained in 1953. At present, ytterbium is mainly used as a dopant of stainless steel or active laser media, and less often as a gamma ray source.