68
Er
Erbium
167.259
Atomic Number: 68
Atomic Weight: 167.259
Melting Point: 1802 K (1529°C or 2784°F)
Boiling Point: 3141 K (2868°C or 5194°F)
Density: 9.07 grams per cubic centimeter
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Element Classification: Metal
Period Number: 6 Group Number: none Group Name: Lanthanide
What's in a name? Named for the village of Ytterby, Sweden.
Say what? Erbium is pronounced as UR-bi-em.
History and Uses:
The mineral gadolinite ((Ce, La, Nd, Y)2FeBe2Si2O10), discovered in a quarry near the town of Ytterby, Sweden, has been the source of a great number of rare earth elements. In 1843, Carl Gustaf Mosander, a Swedish chemist, was able to separate gadolinite into three materials, which he named yttria, erbia and terbia. As might be expected considering the similarities between their names and properties, scientists soon confused erbia and terbia and, by 1877, had reversed their names. What Mosander called erbia is now called terbia and visa versa. From these two substances, Mosander discovered two new elements, terbium and erbium. Today, erbium is primarily obtained through an ion exchange process from the minerals xenotime (YPO4) and euxenite ((Y, Ca, Er, La, Ce, U, Th)(Nb, Ta, Ti)2O6).
Erbium is alloyed with vanadium to make it softer and easier to shape. Erbium is added to fiber optic cables as a doping agent where it is used as a signal amplifier. Erbium also has some uses in the nuclear power industry.
Erbia, the renamed material that Mosander discovered in 1843, is erbium oxide (Er2O3), one of erbium's compounds. Erbia has a pink color and is used to color glass and glazes. Other erbium compounds include: erbium fluoride (ErF3, erbium chloride (ErCl3 and erbium iodide (ErI3).
Estimated Crustal Abundance: 3.5 milligrams per kilogram
Estimated Oceanic Abundance: 8.7×10-7 milligrams per liter
Number of Stable Isotopes: 6 (View all isotope data)
Ionization Energy: 6.108 eV
Oxidation State: +3
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This page is maintained by Steve Gagnon.
