Dysprosium (Dy)- Periodic Table (Element Information & More)

This is a SUPER easy guide on the Dysprosium element.

In fact, the table mentioned below is the perfect information box (Which gives you every single detail about the Dysprosium element in Periodic table.)

So if you want to know anything about the Dysprosium element, then this guide is for you.

Let’s finish this very quickly.

Dysprosium Element (Dy) Information

Appearance	Silvery white metallic surface
State (at STP)	Solid
Position in Periodic table	Group: lanthanides, Period: 6, Block: f
Category	Inner transition metals
Atomic number or  Protons	66
Neutrons	97
Electrons	66
Symbol	Dy
Atomic mass	162.50 u
Electrons arrangement or  Bohr model	2, 8, 18, 28, 8, 2
Electronic configuration	[Xe] 4f10 6s2
Atomic radius	229 picometers (van der Waals radius)
1st Ionization energy	5.939 eV
Crystal structure	HCP (hexagonal close packed)
Melting point	1680 K or 1407 °C or 2565 °F
Boiling point	2840 K or 2562 °C or 4653 °F
Density	8.55 g/cm3
Main isotope	164Dy
Who discovered Dysprosium and when?	Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886
CAS number	7429-91-6

Dysprosium in Periodic table

Dysprosium element is in period 6 and in lanthanide group of the Periodic table. Dysprosium is the f-block element and it belongs to inner transition metals group.

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Why is Dysprosium in Period 6?

Let me ask you a question.

How many shells does dysprosium have?

It’s 6. Right?

You have already seen the bohr model of dysprosium atom in the above table.

From the Bohr model, it can be found that the number of orbits or shells in dysprosium is 6. Hence, as dysprosium has 6 orbits, it lies in period 6 of the Periodic table. 

Why is Dysprosium in f-block?

Before knowing this reason, first of all I want to ask you a simple question.

How can you determine the blocks-wise position of elements?

The simple answer: The elements will lie in the s, p, d or f block will completely depend upon the subshell in which the last electron will enter.

For example; the electron configuration of dysprosium is [Xe] 6s² 4f¹⁰.

So the last electron of dysprosium enters the f-subshell or f-orbital. 

Hence, dysprosium is the f-block element.

5 Interesting facts about Dysprosium

Interesting facts about dysprosium element are mentioned below.

1. The name dysprosium is derived from the Greek word “dysprositos”, which means “difficult to get at”.
2. Dysprosium was discovered by Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886.
3. The concentration of dysprosium metal in the earth’s crust is approximately 6 ppm by weight. [1]
4. Dysprosium is classified as a rare earth metal on the  periodic table, but actually they are not rare. These elements are spread evenly on the earth and it is difficult to find them in one place. Hence they are rare in the context of available resources.
5. The most common mineral ores of dysprosium are monazite and bastnaesite.

Properties of Dysprosium

The physical and chemical properties of dysprosium element are mentioned below.

Physical properties of Dysprosium

Physical properties of dysprosium are mentioned below.

• Dysprosium is a solid metal having a silvery white metallic surface.
• Dysprosium is a soft metal and it can be cut even with a kitchen knife.
• The melting point of dysprosium is 1407 °C and its boiling point is 2562 °C.
• Dysprosium has a HCP (hexagonal close packed) crystal structure.
• The atomic mass of dysprosium is 162.50 u and its density is 8.55 g/cm³.
• Dysprosium has many isotopes, but out of those isotopes, the most abundant isotope is ¹⁶⁴Dy (which has an abundance of approximately 28%).

Chemical properties of Dysprosium

Chemical properties of dysprosium are mentioned below.

• At room temperature, when dysprosium is kept open in air, it starts tarnishing.
• As dysprosium is a reactive metal, it is not found in free state in the earth’s crust. But it exists as a compound with other elements.
• The most common oxidation state of dysprosium is +3. That means, it exists as Dy³⁺ in its mineral ores.
• The electronic configuration of dysprosium ([Xe] 4f¹⁰ 6s²) shows that its last electron enters f-orbital. Because of this reason, it is f-block element.
• The first ionization energy of dysprosium is 5.939 eV.

Uses of Dysprosium

Uses of dysprosium are mentioned below.

• Dysprosium can be used as a neutron absorber in nuclear reactors.
• The alloy made from dysprosium, iron and terbium has a property to expand and contract in presence of magnetic field. Because of this property, it is used in sonar systems.
• Data storage devices like hard discs as well as compact discs also used dysprosium.

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External resources:

1. Dysprosium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Dysprosium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/66/dysprosium
2. Dysprosium – Wikipedia. (2009, May 3). Dysprosium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysprosium
3. P. (n.d.). Dysprosium | Dy (Element) – PubChem. Dysprosium | Dy (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Dysprosium
4. It’s Elemental – The Element Dysprosium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Dysprosium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele066.html
5. Dysprosium (Dy) | AMERICAN ELEMENTS ® (n.d.). American Elements: The Materials Science Company. https://www.americanelements.com/dy.html