General Characteristics

Erbium is a rare-earth element number 68 of group III of D. I. Mendeleev's table, in which it is designated as Er. It is a soft silvery-white metal. It belongs to the lanthanoid group. Its atomic weight is 167.26. It was discovered in 1843 by Swedish scientist Mosander. He managed to isolate this element from a mineral which was found near the town of Itterby. Erbium is named after this town. Its distribution in the lithosphere is about 3.3 g/t. When extracted from ore, it is concentrated together with other heavy lanthanides. It is obtained by electrolysis of _ErCl3 melt together with sodium, potassium and calcium chloride salts.

Physical and chemical properties

Erbium has a density of 9.062 g/cm³. It has a hexagonal lattice with parameters c = 0.55 874 nm and, a = 0.35 588 nm. The melting point reaches 1522 °C, the t° of boiling 2510 °C. The valence is +3. It reacts easily with oxygen and halogens: bromine, iodine, fluorine, chlorine to form salts.

Applications

It is used in nuclear power, fiber optics and laser optics. It contributes to the activation of phosphorus in the smelting of ferrites and magnetic alloys of iron with nickel and cobalt. _{Er2 O3} oxide (sometimes borate) mixed with uranium oxide markedly improves power distribution as well as the technical and economic performance and safety of RBMK reactors. Erbium is present in the control rods of nuclear boilers. Like other metals of the lanthanide group, it is produced in the form of circles, wires, sheets , etc. In the manufacture of optical fibers, _{Er2 O3} oxide is added to quartz melt. Oxide monocrystals are also used in the production of high performance lasers. _{Er2 O3} oxide is a part of laser glasses, luminophores, special ceramics. Its MPC in the air does not exceed ^4mg/m3. Erbium salts are used for melting dyed glass as well as special glasses with high absorption coefficient of infrared rays. Determination of Erbium oxide impurity by spectral method is regulated by GOST 23 862.22-79. The same standard stipulates the method of colorimetric determination of chromium in erbium.

Supply

We supply certified erbium-based rolled steel. The specification includes data on the percentage composition and mechanical properties of products. From us it is easy to buy in bulk any semi-finished products for large-scale production. We also cooperate with retail buyers. High level of service and responsiveness of service is the face of our company.

Buy at the best price

Elektrovek-Steel always in stock of rolled products of rare earth metals at the best price. It is formed taking into account European rates for base metals, without the inclusion of additional costs. We supply certified products of domestic and foreign producers. Cooperation with us provides a number of advantages. Our specialists will be happy to provide advice on purchasing any alloys, the correct choice of which will depend on the performance and durability of the equipment. We will help to determine not only the optimum parameters of the product, but also offer the best price.