The chemistry and scope of yttrium  and yttrium compounds is reviewed here. We manufacture all these compounds and in most instances with these rare earth products , it is important to know the method of manufacture, solubilities, assays and trace impurities.

Rare earth compounds were named not because the individual rare earth elements are rare but because each individual rare earth element rarely exists as a single element but a s a mixture of rare earth elements. In 1787, Carl Axel Arrhenius found a new mineral near Ytterby in Sweden and named it ytterbite, after the village. Johan Gadolin discovered yttrium's oxide in Arrhenius' sample in 1789, and Anders Gustaf Ekeberg named the new oxide yttria. Elemental yttrium was first isolated in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler. The similarities of yttrium to the lathanoids are so strong that the element has historically been grouped with them as a rare earth element,  and is always found in nature together with them in rare earth minerals. It often also falls in the same range for reaction order, resembling tyttrium and dysprosium in its chemical reactivity. Yttrium is so close in size to the so-called 'Yttrium group' of heavy lanthanoid ions that in solution, it behaves as if it were one of them. Even though the lanthanoids are one row farther down the periodic table than yttrium, the similarity in atomic radius may be attributed to the lanthanoid contraction.

The composition of monozite ore is the basis for rare earth impurities found in yttrium compounds and the level of impurities is directly related to the separation and source of these ores. The chemical similarity of yttrium with the lanthanoids leads it to being enriched by the same processes and ends up in ores containing lanthanoids, forming rare earth minerals. A slight separation is recognized between the light (LREE) and the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) but this separation is never complete. Yttrium is concentrated in the HREE group even though it has a lower atomic weight.

Level of impurities:

 99.9%(REO)  1000ppm total rare earth oxide impurities

99.99%(REO)  100ppm total rare earth oxide impurities

99.999%(REO)  10ppm total rare earth oxide impurities

99.9999%(REO)  1ppm total rare earth oxide impurities

For a certificate of analysis for any of these products ordered contact: techservice@rareearthproducts.com

Yttrium chloride, bromide and nitrates are isolated as the hexahydrates and are very soluble in water. Anhydrous halides are also available. Yttrium acetate is somewhat soluble in water. (It is important to work with the manufacturer of your rare earth products because in the case of acetates the solubility varies widely depending on the method of manufacture and reaction conditions.

A new exciting yttrium compound is yttrium trifluoroacetate which is very soluble in water and has new uses as a catalyst in organic synthesis. Yttrium oxalate, carbonate and sulfate are insoluble in water and exist as a defined hydrate. These compounds can also be dehydrated.

Another example of purchasing rare earth compounds from a known manufacturer is yttrium fluoride. The rare earth fluorides are used in advanced material  films, lens and glasses. In virtually all applications the fluoride should be carbonate free. Rare Earth Products, Inc. uses a proprietary process to make carbonate free rare earth fluorides.

Rare earth Products, Inc makes the most extensive list of rare earth metal beta diketonates. These organometallic compounds are used for MOCVD, spin coating, catalysts and NMR shift reagents to name a few advanced applications. The compounds offered include rare earth metal complexes with

acetylacetonate or 2,4-pentanedionate ACAC

 hepatfluorodimethyloctanedionate FOD

hexafluoracetylacetonate HFAC

tetrametylheptanedionate TMHD 

trifluroacetylacetonate TFAC

chiral ligands OPT etc.

 Most of these compounds are used because of  the physical vapor pressure, volatility and organic solvent solubility. Contact our technical service department to get physical data such as melting points, sublimation temperatures,  solubility,  boiling points,  etc - techservice@rareearthproducts.com.

Rare Earth Products, Inc also manufactures the organic soluble compounds yttrium 2-ethylhexanoate and yttrium cyclohexanebutyrate. These metal organic  compounds are soluble in organic solvents. We can also custom synthesize various rare earth p compounds by adding various ligands, dehydrating and coordinating various organic solvents to enhance non polar solubility. Contact techservice@rareearthproducts.com.

The intermetallics yttrium sulfide, yttrium selenide and yttrium telluride are available upon request. Yttrium trifluorometanesulfonate or yttrium triflate is available and useful as a Friedel -Crafts catalyst as the anhydrous salt or the hydrate. A new compound yttrium thenoyltrifluoroacetonate is used as a thermal laser dye