Lanthanum ytterbium oxide
Lanthanum ytterbium oxide (LaYbO3) is a white solid made from lanthanum, ytterbium and oxygen. It has a perovskite crystal structure and is part of the LaREO3 family (RE includes Y, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu). It is not a natural mineral but can be made by reacting La2O3 and Yb2O3 at about 1200°C. Single crystals can be grown from molten hydroxide flux at 750°C in sealed silver tubes, and thin films can be produced by pulsed laser deposition.
The material has an orthorhombic crystal structure (Pnma) with slightly tilted YbO6 octahedra. The La3+ ions are displaced, and the octahedral tilting reduces La’s coordination from 12 to 8. It exhibits negative thermal expansion along the a and b axes.
Electrical and magnetic properties include a room-temperature permittivity of about 26 (slightly dropping to 25 at 10 K). It orders antiferromagnetically with a weak ferromagnetic component at around 2.7 K. Some LaYbO3-based perovskites can also conduct protons at intermediate temperatures (about 600–800°C).
Basic data: formula LaYbO3; molar mass ~360 g/mol; appearance white powder; density ~8.08 g/cm3. Related compounds include lanthanum aluminate and lanthanum manganite.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:53 (CET).