Ytterbium , including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure,ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included. 

Ytterbium is being applied to numerous fiber amplifier and fiber optic technologies and in various lasing applications. Ytterbium is found in monazite sand as well as the ores euxenite and xenotime and is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. It has a single dominant absorption band at 985 in the infra-red making it useful in silicon photocells to directly convert radiant energy to electricity. Ytterbium metal increases its electrical resistance when subjected to very high stresses. This property is used in stress gauges for monitoring ground deformations from earthquakes and nuclear explosions. It is also used in thermal barrier system bond coatings on nickel, iron and other transitional metal alloy substrates. The name Ytterbium originates after the name for the Swedish village of Ytterby. 

Ytterbium facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nanoparticles and nanopowders provide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits. 

Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Ytterbium is available in soluble forms includingchlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured assolutions at specified stoichiometries. 

Ytterbium has 2 valency state, +2 +3. The number of electrons in each of Ytterbium‘s shells is 2, 8, 18, 32, 8, 2 and its electronic configuration is [Xe]4f146s2. In its metallic form Ytterbium‘s CAS number is 7440-64-4 and its standard state at 20 ?C is a solid. The Ytterbium atom has a radius of 194 pm and it‘s Van der Waals radius is unknown. Ytterbium is considered to be fairly toxic. On the periodic table, Ytterbium is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element. 

All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Ytterbium compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis. 

Ytterbium was first discovered by Jean de Marignac in 1878.

Ytterbium Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of Ytterbium and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope. Isotope Atomic Mass % Abundance on Earth Yb-168 167.934 100 The following table shows the abundance of Ytterbium present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:   Typical Human Body Universe by Weight no data 2 ppb by Atom no data 0.01 ppb Ytterbium Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for Ytterbium metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Ytterbium compounds have no biological role.  Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for Ytterbium (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it‘s ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table: 1st Ionization Energy 603.44 kJ mol-1 2nd Ionization Energy 1174.82 kJ mol-1 3rd Ionization Energy 2416.97 kJ mol-1 Conductivity. As to Ytterbium‘s electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured in terms of electrical resistivity @ 20 ?C is 29 ?Ocm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is non-detectable. The thermal conductivity of Ytterbium is 34.9 W m-1 K-1.  Thermal Properties of Ytterbium. The melting point and boiling point for Ytterbium are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization. Heat of Fusion 9.2 kJ mol-1 Heat of Vaporization 159 kJ mol-1 Heat of Atomization 152.8 kJ mol-1

Formula	Atomic Number	Molecular Weight	Electronegativity (Pauling)	Density	Melting Point	Boiling Point	Vanderwaals radius	Ionic radius	Energy of first ionization
Yb	70	173.04 g.mol-1	1.1	7 g.cm-3 at 20 °C	824 °C	1466 °C	unknown	unknown	602.4 kJ.mol-1