7440-52-0 Usage
Description
Erbium is a soft, malleable, silvery metallic element belonging to the lanthanoid series of metals, with the symbol Er, atomic number 68, and relative atomic mass of 167.26. It is one of the rare-earth elements of the yttrium subgroup and is known for its various applications in different industries.
Uses
Used in Glass Coloring:
Erbium is used as a coloring agent in the glass industry due to the Erbium ion's narrow absorption band, which colors erbium salts pink. It is particularly useful in eyeware and decorative glassware, as it can neutralize discoloring impurities such as ferric ions and produce a neutral gray shade.
Used in Fiber Optics and Lasers:
Erbium is used as an amplifier in fiber optics and is a key component in lasers for medical and dental use. Lasers based on Er:YAG are ideally suited for surgical applications because of their ability to deliver energy without thermal build-up in tissue.
Used in Metallurgy:
Erbium is used as a metallurgical additive, particularly when added to vanadium, where it lowers hardness and improves workability. It is also used in the production of various shapes of ingots, pieces, wires, foils, slabs, rods, discs, and powder.
Used in Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Processes:
Erbium foil is utilized in PVD processes, including thermal and electron-beam (e-beam) evaporation, for the preparation of thin films. It is also used as an alloying element with titanium and to produce infra-red absorbing glass.
Used in Nuclear Industry:
Erbium has limited commercial use but is employed as an alloy metal for vanadium to make it easier to work and form spring steel. The oxide of erbium is pink, which is used to color glass and to make lasers that will operate at normal room temperatures. It also has limited use as control rods in nuclear fission reactors.
Erbium is a valuable element with a wide range of applications, from glass coloring to advanced technological uses in fiber optics, lasers, metallurgy, and the nuclear industry. Its unique properties make it an essential component in various industrial processes and products.
Isotopes
There are 39 isotopes of erbium, six of which are stable: Er-162, Er-164, Er-166,Er-167, Er-168, and Er-170. These six isotopes make up the total atomic weight (mass)of erbium, and all the other isotopes are artificially made and short-lived. Their half-livesrange from 200 nanoseconds to 49 hours.
Origin of Name
Named for the quarry in Ytterby, Sweden, where ores and minerals of
many elements are found.
Characteristics
Although erbium is magnetic at very low temperatures, it is antiferromagnetic and becomesa superconductor at temperatures near absolute zero. It is insoluble in water but soluble inacids. Its salts range from pink to red. Erbium and some of the other rare-earth elements areconsidered to be “impurities” in the minerals in which they are found. Small quantities oferbium can also be separated from several other rare-earths.
History
Erbium, one of the so-called rare-earth elements of the lanthanide series, is found in the minerals mentioned under dysprosium above. In 1842 Mosander separated “yttria,” found in the mineral gadolinite, into three fractions which he called yttria, erbia, and terbia. The names erbia and terbia became confused in this early period. After 1860, Mosander’s terbia was known as erbia, and after 1877, the earlier known erbia became terbia. The erbia of this period was later shown to consist of five oxides, now known as erbia, scandia, holmia, thulia and ytterbia. By 1905 Urbain and James independently succeeded in isolating fairly pure Er2O3. Klemm and Bommer first produced reasonably pure erbium metal in 1934 by reducing the anhydrous chloride with potassium vapor. The pure metal is soft and malleable and has a bright, silvery, metallic luster. As with other rare-earth metals, its properties depend to a certain extent on the impurities present. The metal is fairly stable in air and does not oxidize as rapidly as some of the other rare-earth metals. Naturally occurring erbium is a mixture of six isotopes, all of which are stable. Twenty-seven radioactive isotopes of erbium are also recognized. Recent production techniques, using ion-exchange reactions, have resulted in much lower prices of the rare-earth metals and their compounds in recent years. The cost of 99.9% erbium metal is about $21/g. Erbium is finding nuclear and metallurgical uses. Added to vanadium, for example, erbium lowers the hardness and improves workability. Most of the rare-earth oxides have sharp absorption bands in the visible, ultraviolet, and near infrared. This property, associated with the electronic structure, gives beautiful pastel colors to many of the rare-earth salts. Erbium oxide gives a pink color and has been used as a colorant in glasses and porcelain enamel glazes.
Hazard
Erbium nitrate [Er(NO3)3] may explode when “shocked” or at high temperatures. As withother rare-earths, erbium and its compounds should be handled with care because they canbe toxic.
Hazard
Flammable in finely divided form.
Check Digit Verification of cas no
The CAS Registry Mumber 7440-52-0 includes 7 digits separated into 3 groups by hyphens. The first part of the number,starting from the left, has 4 digits, 7,4,4 and 0 respectively; the second part has 2 digits, 5 and 2 respectively.
Calculate Digit Verification of CAS Registry Number 7440-52:
(6*7)+(5*4)+(4*4)+(3*0)+(2*5)+(1*2)=90
90 % 10 = 0
So 7440-52-0 is a valid CAS Registry Number.
InChI:InChI=1/Er
