Yttrium and Ytterbium - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of yttrium and ytterbium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Yttrium vsYtterbium.

yttrium and ytterbium - comparison

Compare yttrium with another element

Compare ytterbium with another element

Yttrium and Ytterbium – About Elements

Yttrium

Yttrium is a silvery-metallic transition metal chemically similar to the lanthanides and has often been classified as a “rare-earth element”.

Ytterbium

Because of its closed-shell electron configuration, its density and melting and boiling points differ significantly from those of most other lanthanides.

Yttrium in Periodic Table

Ytterbium in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Yttrium and Ytterbium – Applications

Yttrium

The most important uses of yttrium are LEDs and phosphors, particularly the red phosphors in television set cathode ray tube displays. Yttrium is also used in the production of electrodes, electrolytes, electronic filters, lasers, superconductors, various medical applications, and tracing various materials to enhance their properties. Small amounts of yttrium (0.1 to 0.2%) have been used to reduce the grain sizes of chromium, molybdenum, titanium, and zirconium. Yttrium is used to increase the strength of aluminium and magnesium alloys.

Ytterbium

Ytterbium is beginning to find a variety of uses, such as in memory devices and tuneable lasers. It can also be used as an industrial catalyst and is increasingly being used to replace other catalysts considered to be too toxic and polluting. A small amount of ytterbium is used to add strength to specific steel types. Ytterbium can also be used as a dopant to help improve the grain refinement, strength, and other mechanical properties of stainless steel.

Yttrium and Ytterbium – Comparison in Table

Element	Yttrium	Ytterbium
Density	6.511 g/cm3	6.57 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	330 MPa	69 MPa
Yield Strength	230 MPa	66 MPa
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	88 GPa	23.9 GPa
Mohs Scale	5	N/A
Brinell Hardness	650 MPa	340 MPa
Vickers Hardness	900 MPa	210 MPa
Melting Point	1855 °C	819 °C
Boiling Point	4377 °C	1196 °C
Thermal Conductivity	22.7 W/mK	39 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	5.7 µm/mK	26.3 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.27 J/g K	0.15 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	16.9 kJ/mol	7.66 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	591 kJ/mol	128.9 kJ/mol