Y 39

Yttrium (Y)

transition-metal

Period: 5 Group: 3 Block: s

Solid

Standard Atomic Weight

Electron configuration

[Kr] 5s² 4d¹

Melting point

1521.85 °C (1795 K)

Boiling point

3344.85 °C (3618 K)

Density

4470 kg/m³

Oxidation states

0, +1, +2, +3

Electronegativity (Pauling)

1.22

Ionization energy (1st)

Discovery year

1794

Atomic radius

180 pm

Details

Name origin From the Swedish village, Ytterby, where one of its minerals was first found.

Discovery country Finland

Discoverers Johann Gadolin

Yttrium is a silvery transition metal grouped with the rare-earth elements because it commonly occurs with lanthanides and forms predominantly trivalent cations. Its chemistry is close to the heavier lanthanides, especially holmium and erbium, rather than to scandium. Although not itself a lanthanide, yttrium is a key component of phosphors, ceramics, lasers, and high-temperature oxide materials.

Yttrium has a silver-metallic luster and is relatively stable in air. Turnings of the metal, however, ignite in air if their temperature exceeds 400°C. Finely divided yttrium is very unstable in air.

The name derives from the Swedish village of Ytterby where the mineral gadolinite was found. In 1794, the Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin discovered yttrium in the mineral ytterbite, which was later renamed gadolinite for Gadolin. Gadolin originally called the element ytterbium after ytterbite. The name was subsequently shortened to yttrium, and later another element was given the name ytterbium.

Yttrium was discovered by Johan Gadolin, a Finnish chemist, while analyzing the composition of the mineral gadolinite ((Ce, La, Nd, Y)2FeBe2Si2O10) in 1789. Gadolinite, which was named for Johan Gadolin, was discovered several years earlier in a quarry near the town of Ytterby, Sweden. Today, yttrium is primarily obtained through an ion exchange process from monazite sand ((Ce, La, Th, Nd, Y)PO4), a material rich in rare earth elements.

Namded after Ytterby, a village in Sweden near Vauxholm. Yttria earth containing yttrium was discovered by Gadolin in 1794. Ytterby is the site of a quarry which yielded many unusual minerals containing rare earths and other elements. This small town, near Stockholm, bears the honor of giving names to erbium, terbium, and ytterbium as well as yttrium.

In 1843 Mosander showed that yttira could be resolved into the oxides (or earths) of three elements. The name yttria was reserved for the most basic one; the others were named erbia and terbia.

Read about Yttrium on Wikipedia

Images

Properties

Physical

Atomic radius (empirical) 180 pm

Covalent radius 190 pm

Van der Waals radius 219 pm

Metallic radius 162 pm

Density

Molar volume 0.0198 L/mol

Phase at STP solid

Melting point 1521.85 °C

Boiling point 3344.85 °C

Specific heat capacity 0.298 J/(g·K)

Molar heat capacity 26.53 J/(mol·K)

Crystal structure hcp

Chemical

Electronegativity (Pauling) 1.22

Electronegativity (Allen) 1.12

Electron affinity

Ionization energy (1st)

Ionization energy (2nd)

Ionization energy (3rd)

Ionization energy (4th)

Ionization energy (5th)

Oxidation states 0, +1, +2, +3

Valence electrons 3

Electron configuration

Electron configuration (semantic)

Thermodynamic

Heat of fusion 0.11836037 eV

Heat of vaporization 3.762243 eV

Heat of sublimation 4.394465 eV

Heat of atomization 4.394465 eV

Atomization enthalpy

Nuclear

Stable isotopes 1

Discovery year 1794

Abundance

Abundance (Earth's crust) 33 mg/kg

Abundance (ocean)

Reactivity

N/A

Crystal Structure

Lattice constant a 365 pm

Electronic Structure

Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 9, 2

Identifiers

CAS number 7440-65-5

Term symbol

InChI InChI=1S/Y

InChI Key VWQVUPCCIRVNHF-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Electron Configuration Measured

Ion charge

Protons 39

Electrons 39

Charge Neutral

Configuration Y: 4d¹ 5s²

[Kr] 4d¹ 5s²

1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹ 5s²

Orbital diagram

↑↓

2/2

↑↓

2/2

↑↓

6/6

↑↓

2/2

↑↓

6/6

↑↓

2/2

↑↓

10/10

↑↓

6/6

↑↓

2/2

↑

1/10 1↑

Total electrons: 39 Unpaired: 1

Atomic model

Protons 39

Neutrons 50

Electrons 39

Mass number 89

Stability Stable

Isotopes change neutron count, mass, and stability — not the electron configuration of a neutral atom.

Schematic atomic model, not to scale.

Atomic Fingerprint

Emission / Absorption Spectrum

Emission Visible: 380–750 nm

Isotope Distribution

Mass number	Atomic mass (u)	Natural abundance	Half-life
89 Stable	88.9058403 ± 0.0000024	100.0000%	Stable

Measured

Phase / State

Solid 25 °C (298.15 K)

Reason: 1496.8 °C below melting point (1521.85 °C)

Melting point 1521.85 °C

Boiling point 3344.85 °C

Below melting by 1496.8 °C

0 K Current temperature: 25 °C 6000 K

Phase timeline

Schematic, not to scale

Solid

Liquid

Gas

Melting

Boiling

25°C

Solid

Liquid

Gas

Current

Phase transition points

Melting point Literature

1521.85 °C

Boiling point Literature

3344.85 °C

Current phase Calculated
Solid

Transition energies

Heat of fusion Literature

0.11836037 eV

Energy required to melt 1 mol at melting point

Heat of vaporization Literature

3.762243 eV

Energy required to vaporize 1 mol at boiling point

Heat of sublimation Literature

4.394465 eV

Energy required to sublime 1 mol at sublimation point

Density

Reference density Literature

4470 kg/m³

At standard conditions

Current density Calculated

4470 kg/m³

At standard conditions

Atomic Spectra

Showing 10 of 39 Atomic Spectra. Sorted by ion charge (ascending).

Lines Holdings ?

Ion	Charge	Total lines	Transition probabilities	Level designations
Y I	0	361	189	351
Y II	+1	116	66	116
Y III	+2	113	0	0
Y IV	+3	25	0	0
Y V	+4	632	632	632
Y VII	+6	168	168	168
Y VIII	+7	70	70	70

NIST Lines Holdings →

Levels Holdings ?

Ion	Charge	Levels
Y I	0	194
Y II	+1	249
Y III	+2	51
Y IV	+3	130
Y V	+4	114
Y VI	+5	2
Y VII	+6	57
Y VIII	+7	33
Y IX	+8	2
Y X	+9	2

NIST Levels Holdings →

39 Y 88.90584

Yttrium — Atomic Orbital Visualizer

[Kr]5s24d1

Energy levels 2 8 18 9 2

Oxidation states 0, +1, +2, +3

HOMO 4d n=4 · l=2 · m=-2

Yttrium — Atomic Orbital Visualizer Preview

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39 Y 88.90584

Yttrium — Crystal Structure Visualizer

Primitive Hexagonal · Pearson hP2

Experimental

Pearson hP2

Coord. № 12

Packing 75.071%

Yttrium — Crystal Structure Visualizer Preview

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Ionic Radii

Charge	Coordination	Spin	Radius
+3	6	N/A	90 pm
+3	7	N/A	96 pm
+3	8	N/A	101.89999999999999 pm
+3	9	N/A	107.5 pm

Compounds

88.906 u

89.907 u

Y+3

88.906 u

90.907 u

87.909 u

85.915 u

86.911 u

88.906 u

92.910 u

91.909 u

94.913 u

93.912 u

Y+3

89.907 u

Y+3

88.906 u

98.924 u

Y+3

85.915 u

Isotopes (1)

Natural yttrium contains one isotope, 89Y. Nineteen other unstable isotopes have been characterized.

	Mass number	Atomic mass (u)	Natural abundance	Half-life	Decay mode
	89 Stable	88.9058403 ± 0.0000024	100.0000%	Stable	stable

89 Stable

Atomic mass (u) 88.9058403 ± 0.0000024

Natural abundance 100.0000%

Half-life Stable

Decay mode

stable

Spectral Lines

Showing 50 of 266 Spectral Lines. Only spectral lines with measured intensity are shown by default.

Wavelength (nm)	Intensity	Ion stage	Type	Transition	Accuracy	Source
410.23691 nm	9900	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(1D).5p y 2F*	Measured	NIST
407.735998 nm	9400	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(1D).5p y 2F*	Measured	NIST
412.829876 nm	8900	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(1D).5p y 2D*	Measured	NIST
414.28358 nm	7500	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(1D).5p y 2D*	Measured	NIST
404.76281 nm	2400	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p y 2P*	Measured	NIST
416.750671 nm	2400	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(1D).5p y 2F*	Measured	NIST
423.5934 nm	2200	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(1D).5p y 2D*	Measured	NIST
408.37033 nm	2000	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p y 2P*	Measured	NIST
417.41339 nm	2000	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p y 2P*	Measured	NIST
464.368813 nm	2000	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 2F*	Measured	NIST
467.48486 nm	2000	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 2F*	Measured	NIST
619.17183 nm	1200	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 2D*	Measured	NIST
643.50036 nm	1000	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 2D*	Measured	NIST
403.982219 nm	940	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(1D).5p y 2D*	Measured	NIST
452.72342 nm	890	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4D*	Measured	NIST
483.9861 nm	770	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4F*	Measured	NIST
552.75472 nm	740	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p z 4G*	Measured	NIST
546.6464 nm	710	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p z 4G*	Measured	NIST
558.18694 nm	620	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p z 4G*	Measured	NIST
563.01301 nm	560	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p z 4G*	Measured	NIST
484.56655 nm	550	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4F*	Measured	NIST
450.59441 nm	500	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4D*	Measured	NIST
452.77815 nm	440	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4D*	Measured	NIST
476.09753 nm	410	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 2F*	Measured	NIST
485.26766 nm	410	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4F*	Measured	NIST
485.98428 nm	330	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4F*	Measured	NIST
425.11994 nm	300	Y I	emission	4d.5s.(3D).5p z 4F* → 4d.5s.(3D).5d e 4G	Measured	NIST
448.74634 nm	300	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4D*	Measured	NIST
550.3466 nm	300	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 2F → 4d2.(3F).5p x 2F*	Measured	NIST
622.25784 nm	300	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 2D*	Measured	NIST
543.82242 nm	190	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 2F → 4d2.(3F).5p x 2D*	Measured	NIST
546.62434 nm	190	Y I	emission	4d.5s.(3D).5p z 4F* → 4d.5s.(3D).6s e 4D	Measured	NIST
679.37029 nm	190	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 4F*	Measured	NIST
524.08001 nm	181	Y I	emission	4d2.(1G).5s a 2G → 4d2.(1G).5p z 2H*	Measured	NIST
447.69471 nm	180	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p x 2F*	Measured	NIST
469.67994 nm	180	Y I	emission	4d2.(1D).5s b 2D → 4d2.(1D).5p w 2F*	Measured	NIST
479.92999 nm	180	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4F*	Measured	NIST
513.51993 nm	180	Y I	emission	4d2.(1G).5s a 2G → 4d2.(1G).5p z 2H*	Measured	NIST
557.74153 nm	180	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 2F → 4d2.(3F).5p z 2G*	Measured	NIST
447.57178 nm	170	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4D*	Measured	NIST
472.8516 nm	170	Y I	emission	5s2.5p z 2P* → 5s2.6s e 2S	Measured	NIST
478.68762 nm	170	Y I	emission	4d2.(3P).5s a 4P → 4d2.(3P).5p x 4D*	Measured	NIST
421.77985 nm	160	Y I	emission	5s2.5p z 2P* → 5s2.(2D).5d e 2D	Measured	NIST
447.74436 nm	160	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 4F → 4d2.(3F).5p y 4D*	Measured	NIST
475.2787 nm	160	Y I	emission	4d2.(3F).5s a 2F → 4d2.(3P).5p x 4D*	Measured	NIST
570.67133 nm	160	Y I	emission	4d.5s.(3D).5p z 4F* → 4d.5s.(3D).6s e 4D	Measured	NIST
492.18769 nm	150	Y I	emission	5s2.5p z 2P* → 5s2.6s e 2S	Measured	NIST
613.84349 nm	150	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 4D*	Measured	NIST
668.75669 nm	150	Y I	emission	4d.5s2 a 2D → 4d.5s.(3D).5p z 4F*	Measured	NIST
465.37837 nm	140	Y I	emission	4d2.(1D).5s b 2D → 4d2.(3P).5p y 4P*	Measured	NIST

Extended Properties

Covalent Radii (Extended)

Covalent radius (Pyykkö)

Covalent radius (Pyykkö, double)

Covalent radius (Pyykkö, triple)

Van der Waals Radii

Batsanov

Alvarez

UFF

MM3

Atomic & Metallic Radii

Atomic radius (Rahm)

Metallic radius (C12)

Numbering Scales

Mendeleev

Pettifor

Glawe

Electronegativity Scales

Ghosh

Miedema

Gunnarsson–Lundqvist

Robles–Bartolotti

Polarizability & Dispersion

Dipole polarizability

Dipole polarizability (unc.)

C₆ (Gould–Bučko)

Chemical Affinity

Proton affinity

Gas basicity

Miedema Parameters

Miedema molar volume

Miedema electron density

Supply Risk & Economics

Production concentration

Relative supply risk

Reserve distribution

Political stability (top producer)

Political stability (top reserve)

Phase Transitions & Allotropes

Melting point	1795.15 K
Boiling point	3618.15 K

Oxidation State Categories

+2 extended

+1 extended

+3 main

0 extended

Advanced Reference Data

Screening Constants (10)

n	Orbital	σ
1	s	0.8244
2	p	3.9968
2	s	10.3778
3	d	13.6029
3	p	15.9075
3	s	15.4485
4	d	23.0416
4	p	26.2544
4	s	24.7364
5	s	32.744

Crystal Radii Detail (4)

Charge	CN	r_crystal (pm)	Origin
3	VI	104	from r^3 vs V plots,
3	VII	110
3	VIII	115.9	from r^3 vs V plots,
3	IX	121.5	from r^3 vs V plots,

Isotope Decay Modes (60)

Isotope	Mode	Intensity
75	B+	—
75	B+p	—
75	p	—
76	B+	—
76	p	—
76	B+p	—
77	B+	100%
77	B+p	—
77	p	—
78	B+	100%

X‑ray Scattering Factors (619)

Energy (eV)	f₁	f₂
10	—	2.26036
10.1617	—	2.25621
10.3261	—	2.25207
10.4931	—	2.24793
10.6628	—	2.2438
10.8353	—	2.23968
11.0105	—	2.23344
11.1886	—	2.21122
11.3696	—	2.18921
11.5535	—	2.16742

Additional Data

Estimated Crustal Abundance

The estimated element abundance in the earth's crust.

3.3×101 milligrams per kilogram

References (1)

[5] Yttrium https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele039.html

Estimated Oceanic Abundance

The estimated element abundance in the earth's oceans.

1.3×10-5 milligrams per liter

References (1)

[5] Yttrium https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele039.html

Sources

Sources of this element.

Yttrium occurs in nearly all of the rare-earth minerals. Analysis of lunar rock samples obtained during the Apollo missions show a relatively high yttrium content.

It is recovered commercially from monazite sand, which contains about 3%, and from bastnasite, which contains about 0.2%. Wohler obtained the impure element in 1828 by reduction of the anhydrous chloride with potassium. The metal is now produced commercially by reduction of the fluoride with calcium metal. It can also be prepared by other techniques.

References (1)

[6] Yttrium https://periodic.lanl.gov/39.shtml

References

(9)

1 PubChem

Data deposited in or computed by PubChem

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2 Atomic Mass Data Center (AMDC), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The half-life and atomic mass data was provided by the Atomic Mass Data Center at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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3 IUPAC Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW)

Yttrium

Element data are cited from the Atomic weights of the elements (an IUPAC Technical Report). The IUPAC periodic table of elements can be found at https://iupac.org/what-we-do/periodic-table-of-elements/. Additional information can be found within IUPAC publication doi:10.1515/pac-2015-0703 Copyright © 2020 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

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4 IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements and Isotopes (IPTEI)

The information are cited from Pure Appl. Chem. 2018; 90(12): 1833-2092, https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0703.

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License note: Copyright (c) 2020 International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) contribution within Pubchem is provided under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, unless otherwise stated.

5 Jefferson Lab, U.S. Department of Energy

Yttrium

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) is one of 17 national laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The lab's primary mission is to conduct basic research of the atom's nucleus using the lab's unique particle accelerator, known as the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). For more information visit https://www.jlab.org/

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License note: Please see citation and linking information: https://education.jlab.org/faq/index.html

6 Los Alamos National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy

Yttrium

The periodic table at the LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory) contains basic element information together with the history, source, properties, use, handling and more. The provenance data may be found from the link under the source name.

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7 NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory

Yttrium

The periodic table contains NIST's critically-evaluated data on atomic properties of the elements. The provenance data that include data for atomic spectroscopy, X-ray and gamma ray, radiation dosimetry, nuclear physics, and condensed matter physics may be found from the link under the source name. Ref: https://www.nist.gov/pml/atomic-spectra-database

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8 PubChem Elements

Yttrium

This section provides all form of data related to element Yttrium.

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9 PubChem Elements

Yttrium

The element property data was retrieved from publications.

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Last updated: May 1, 2026

Data verified: May 12, 2026

Content is reviewed against latest scientific data.