Ytterbium(III) oxide explained

Ytterbium(III) oxide is the chemical compound with the formula Yb₂O₃. It is one of the more commonly encountered compounds of ytterbium. It occurs naturally in trace amounts in the mineral gadolinite. It was first isolated from this in 1878 by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac.^[1]

Preparation

Ytterbium(III) oxide can be obtained by directly reacting ytterbium with oxygen:^[2]

It can also be obtained by the thermal decomposition of ytterbium carbonate or ytterbium oxalate at temperatures around 700 °C:^[3]

Properties

Chemical

Ytterbium(III) oxide is a white powder. It reacts with carbon tetrachloride^[4] or hot hydrochloric acid to form ytterbium(III) chloride:^[5]

Physical

Like the other trivalent oxides of the heavier lanthanides, ytterbium(III) oxide has the "rare-earth C-type sesquioxide" structure which is related to the fluorite structure with one quarter of the anions removed, leading to ytterbium atoms in two different six coordinate (non-octahedral) environments.^[6]

Uses

• Colorant for glasses and enamels^[7]
• Dopant for garnet crystals in lasers
• Optical fibers
• Additive for special alloys and dielectric ceramic materials^[8]

See also

• Active laser medium

External links

• Information at WebElements

Notes and References

1. Book: Krebs . Robert E. . The history and use of our earth's chemical elements: a reference guide . Déjur . Rae . 2006 . Greenwood Press . 978-0-313-33438-2 . 2nd . Westport, Conn..
2. Book: Wiberg . Egon . Lehrbuch der anorganischen Chemie . Wiberg . Nils . 2007 . Walter de Gruyter . 978-3-11-017770-1 . Holleman . Arnold F. . 102., stark umgearbeitete und verbesserte Auflage . Berlin New York . Fischer . Gerd.
3. Book: Synthesis of lanthanide and actinide compounds . 1991 . Kluwer . 978-0-7923-1018-1 . Meyer . Gerd . Topics in f element chemistry . Dordrecht.
4. GORYUSHKIN . V. F. . ASTAKHOVA . I. S. . POSHEVNEVA . A. I. . ZALYMOVA . S. A. . 1989-12-19 . ChemInform Abstract: Crystalline Holmium Dichloride. . ChemInform . 20 . 51 . 10.1002/chin.198951025 . 0931-7597.
5. Sebastian . Jörg . Seifert . Hans-Joachim . 1998-09-07 . Ternary chlorides in the systems ACl/YbCl3 (A=Cs,Rb,K) . Thermochimica Acta . 318 . 1 . 29–37 . 10.1016/S0040-6031(98)00326-8 . 0040-6031.
6. Book: Wells, Alexander Frank . Structural inorganic chemistry . 1991 . Clarendon press . 978-0-19-855370-0 . 5th . Oxford science publications . Oxford.
7. Web site: Terbium Oxide . Stanford Advanced Materials . Aug 19, 2024.
8. Book: Milne, G. W. A. . Gardner's Commercially Important Chemicals: Synonyms, Trade Names, and Properties . 2005-09-02 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-0-471-73661-5 . en.