Ytterbium Properties (25 Facts You Should Know)

Ytterbium is a metal with the symbol Yb with atomic number 70. Its place is 14^th in the lanthanide series. Let us discuss the chemical properties of ytterbium.

Ytterbium has a molar mass of 173.0540 g/mol. It is silver white with a pale-yellow tint in colour. Ytterbium is rare earth metal which dissolves easily in heavy mineral acid.

Let us discuss the chemical properties of ytterbium like its atomic weight, electronic configuration, group, period, melting point and boiling point.

Ytterbium symbol

Ytterbium is represented by the symbol ‘Yb’.

Screenshot 2022 10 27 204818 — **Symbol of ytterbium**

Ytterbium group in periodic table

Ytterbium is present in the 14^th element of the lanthanide group.

Ytterbium period in periodic table

Ytterbium is placed in the 6^th period of the periodic table. It means Yb is the 6^th horizontal row of the periodic table.

Ytterbium block in periodic table

Ytterbium is present in the f block of the periodic table. The valence shell of ytterbium is present in the f valence shell. Hence, they are called an f-block elements.

Ytterbium atomic number

The atomic number of ytterbium is 70. It means Yb contains 70 valence electrons.

Ytterbium atomic Weight

The atomic weight of ytterbium is 173.04. It is the total weight of the ytterbium atom.

Ytterbium Electronegativity according to Pauling

According to Pauling the electronegativity of ytterbium is 6.2542 eV.

Ytterbium atomic Density

The atomic density of ytterbium is 6.57 g/cm³.

Ytterbium melting point

The melting point of ytterbium is 824^oC. At that temperature, ytterbium is converted into a liquid state.

Ytterbium boiling point

The boiling point of ytterbium is 1196^oC.

Ytterbium Vander Waals radius

Vander Waals radius of ytterbium is 228 pm.

Ytterbium ionic/covalent radius

Covalent radius of ytterbium is 187 pm.

Ytterbium isotopes

Isotopes have the same periodic table position but different neutron numbers. Let us see different isotopes of ytterbium.

Ytterbium has 7 different isotopes. With different mass numbers but the same atomic number. A list of all ytterbium isotopes is shown below.

Ytterbium isotopes	Atomic number	Atomic number	Half-life	Decay mode
¹⁶⁸Yb	70	167.933397	Stable	Stable
¹⁷⁰Yb	70	169.9347618	Stable	Stable
¹⁷¹Yb	70	170.9363258	Stable	Stable
¹⁷²Yb	70	171.9363815	Stable	Stable
¹⁷³Yb	70	172.9382108	Stable	Stable
¹⁷⁴Yb	70	173.9388621	Stable	Stable
¹⁷⁵Yb	70	175.9425717	Stable	Stable

Stable isotopes of ytterbium

Ytterbium electronic shell

An electronic shell represents the number of electrons which are surrounded by the atom’s nucleus. Let us determine the electronic shell of the ytterbium.

Ytterbium has 6 electronic shells according to its atomic number. 70 electrons of Yb have been distributed in these 6 electronic shells as follows 2,8,18,32,8,2.

Ytterbium energy of first ionization

The first ionization energy of ytterbium is 6.25eV. This much energy is required to remove electrons from the valence shell of Yb.

Ytterbium energy of second ionization

The second ionization energy of ytterbium is 12.17eV. This much energy is required to remove electrons.

Ytterbium energy of third ionization

The third ionization energy of ytterbium is 25.05eV.

Ytterbium oxidation states

Ytterbium shows two stable oxidation states +2 and +3.

Ytterbium electron configurations

Electronic configuration of any element represents the number of electrons present in the atomic shell of that element. let us see the electronic configuration of Yb.

The electronic configuration of ytterbium is [Xe] 4f¹⁴6s^2. Under rare earth metal where xenon is a noble gas.

Ytterbium CAS number

The CAS number of ytterbium is 7440-64-4.

Ytterbium Chem Spider ID

ChemSpider ID of ytterbium is 22428.

Ytterbium allotropic forms

Allotropes are two or more forms of chemical elements which are in the same physical state. Let us see the allotropic forms of ytterbium.

Ytterbium has 3 allotropic forms. First is the beta form which has face centred cubic structure, the gamma form has a body-centred cubic structure. And the body-centred cubic face is recently found at higher temperatures.

Ytterbium chemical classification

The chemical classification of ytterbium is as follows.

Ytterbium is a smooth, ductile malleable chemical element.
Ytterbium has a silvery metal luster.
Ytterbium is a rare earth metal which dissolves easily in mineral acids.

Ytterbium state at room temperature

Ytterbium is solid rare earth metal at room temperature.

Is ytterbium paramagnetic?

The elements which are weekly attracted by an external magnetic field are paramagnetic in nature. Let us determine whether Yb is paramagnetic or not.

Ytterbium is paramagnetic in nature as it is weekly attracted by an external magnetic field.

Conclusion

Ytterbium is a rare earth metal. Which has an atomic number of 70. It is present in the 14^th group and 6^th periods of the periodic table. Its atomic mass is 173.04. Also, we have discussed many chemical properties like boiling point, melting point, ionization energies and many more.