Erbium, atomic number 68, is located in the 6th cycle of the chemical periodic table, lanthanide (IIIB group) number 11, atomic weight 167.26, and the element name comes from the discovery site of yttrium earth.
Erbium has a content of 0.000247% in the crust and is found in many rare earth minerals. It exists in igneous rocks and can be obtained by electrolysis and melting of ErCl3. It coexists with other high-density rare earth elements in yttrium phosphate and black rare earth gold deposits.
Ionic rare earth minerals: Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Guangxi, etc. in China. Phosphorus yttrium ore: Malaysia, Guangxi, Guangdong, China. Monazite: Australia’s coastal areas, India’s coastal areas, Guangdong, China, and Taiwan’s coastal areas.
Discovering History
Discovered in 1843
Discovery process: Discovered by C.G. Mosander in 1843. He originally named the oxide of erbium terbium oxide, so in early literature, terbium oxide and erbium oxide were mixed. It was not until after 1860 that correction was necessary.
During the same period as the discovery of lanthanum, Mossander analyzed and studied the initially discovered yttrium, and published a report in 1842, clarifying that the initially discovered yttrium earth was not a single elemental oxide, but an oxide of three elements. He still named one of them yttrium earth, and one of them erbia (erbium earth). The element symbol is designated as Er. The discovery of erbium and two other elements, lanthanum and terbium, opened the second door to the discovery of rare earth elements, marking the second stage of their discovery. Their discovery was the discovery of three rare earth elements after the two elements cerium and yttrium.
Electron configuration
Electronic layout:
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f12
The first ionization energy is 6.10 electron volts. The chemical and physical properties are almost identical to those of holmium and dysprosium.
The isotopes of erbium include: 162Er, 164Er, 166Er, 167Er, 168Er, 170Er.
Metal
Erbium is a silver white metal, soft in texture, insoluble in water and soluble in acids. Salts and oxides are pink to red in color. Melting point 1529 ° C, boiling point 2863 ° C, density 9.006 g/cm ³。
Erbium is antiferromagnetic at low temperatures, strongly ferromagnetic near absolute zero, and is a superconductor.
Erbium is slowly oxidized by air and water at room temperature, resulting in a rose red color.
Application:
Its oxide Er2O3 is a rose red color used to make glazed pottery. Erbium oxide is used in the ceramic industry to produce a pink enamel.
Erbium also has some applications in the nuclear industry and can be used as an alloy component for other metals. For example, doping erbium into vanadium can enhance its ductility.
At present, the most prominent use of erbium is in the manufacturing of erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). The bait doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) was first developed by the University of Southampton in 1985. It is one of the greatest inventions in fiber optic communication and can even be said to be the "gas station" of today's long-distance information superhighway. Erbium doped fiber is the core of an amplifier by doping a small amount of rare earth element erbium ions (Er3+) into a quartz fiber. Doping tens to hundreds of ppm of erbium in optical fibers can compensate for optical losses in communication systems. Erbium doped fiber amplifiers are like a "pumping station" of light, allowing optical signals to be transmitted without attenuation from station to station, thus smoothly opening up the technological channel for modern long-distance, high-capacity, and high-speed fiber optic communication.
Another application hotspot of erbium is laser, especially as a medical laser material. Erbium laser is a solid-state pulse laser with a wavelength of 2940nm, which can be strongly absorbed by water molecules in human tissues, achieving significant results with less energy. It can accurately cut, grind, and excise soft tissues. Erbium YAG laser is also used for cataract extraction. Erbium laser therapy equipment is opening up increasingly broad application fields for laser surgery.
Erbium can also be used as an activating ion for rare earth upconversion laser materials. Erbium laser upconversion materials can be divided into two categories: single crystal (fluoride, oxygen-containing salt) and glass (fiber), such as erbium-doped yttrium aluminate (YAP: Er3+) crystals and Er3+doped ZBLAN fluoride (ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF) glass fibers, which have now been practical. BaYF5: Yb3+, Er3+can convert infrared light into visible light, and this multiphoton upconversion luminescent material has been successfully used in night vision devices.
Post time: Oct-25-2023