What group and period is Yttrium in?

Yttrium is in Group 3 and Period 5 of the periodic table. It sits directly below Scandium (Sc) and is chemically similar to the lanthanides, which is why it is often classified as a rare-earth element.

What is Yttrium used for?

Yttrium has several important industrial and scientific applications. It is used in red phosphors for color television screens and LED displays (as yttrium orthovanadate), in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) microwave filters, in yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) laser crystals, in high-temperature superconductors (YBCO), and as a strengthening additive in magnesium and aluminum alloys.

Why is Yttrium called a rare-earth element?

Although Yttrium is a transition metal by periodic table position, its chemistry so closely resembles the lanthanides — same dominant +3 oxidation state, similar ionic radius, co-occurrence in rare-earth ore deposits — that IUPAC groups it with the rare-earth elements for practical purposes.

Who discovered Yttrium and when?

Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin discovered Yttrium in 1794 while analyzing a mineral from Ytterby, Sweden. The element (and the village) later gave their names to three additional elements: ytterbium, terbium, and erbium.

Is Yttrium radioactive?

Natural Yttrium consists entirely of the stable isotope Y-89. Yttrium has no naturally occurring radioactive isotopes. However, artificial isotopes such as Y-90 (half-life 64 hours) are produced in nuclear reactors and used in cancer radiotherapy.

Yttrium Element Properties

Name: Yttrium Element Properties
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Author: Nham Vu

Look up every key property of Yttrium (Y, Z=39) — from atomic mass and electron configuration to melting point and electronegativity.

Y 39

Yttrium

Atomic number 39 · Group 3 · Period 5 · Transition Metal

A silvery metal with rare-earth chemistry — the backbone of YAG lasers, red phosphors, and high-temperature superconductors.

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Identity & Classification

Atomic Structure

Physical Properties

Thermodynamic Properties

Chemical Properties

Notable Isotopes

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Summary

Look up every key property of Yttrium (Y, Z=39) — from atomic mass and electron configuration to melting point and electronegativity.

How it works

The page loads a complete, curated dataset of Yttrium properties.
Properties are grouped into thematic sections: identity, atomic structure, physical, thermodynamic, and chemical.
Use the search box to filter any property by name or value.
Click any value to copy it to the clipboard.
All data is sourced from peer-reviewed references including IUPAC and WebElements.

Use cases

Quick reference during chemistry homework or exams.
Verify data for lab reports or research papers on rare-earth elements.
Look up Yttrium properties for materials science and engineering projects.
Study periodic trends across Period 5 transition metals.
Research applications in superconductors, lasers, and phosphors.
Teaching periodic table concepts with accurate, sourced data.

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Last updated: 2026-06-18 · Reviewed by Nham Vu