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Names | |
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Other names Erbium oxide, erbia | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.031.847 |
EC Number |
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PubChem CID | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
Er2O3 | |
Molar mass | 382.56 g/mol |
Appearance | pink crystals |
Density | 8.64 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 2,344 °C (4,251 °F; 2,617 K) |
Boiling point | 3,290 °C (5,950 °F; 3,560 K) |
insoluble in water | |
+73,920·10−6 cm3/mol | |
Structure | |
Cubic, cI80 | |
Ia-3, No. 206 | |
Thermochemistry | |
Heat capacity (C) | 108.5 J·mol−1·K−1 |
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 155.6 J·mol−1·K−1 |
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −1897.9 kJ·mol−1 |
Related compounds | |
Other anions | Erbium(III) chloride |
Other cations | Holmium(III) oxide, Thulium(III) oxide |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Erbium(III) oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Er2O3. It is a pink paramagnetic solid. It finds uses in various optical materials. [2]
Erbium(III) oxide has a cubic structure resembling the bixbyite motif. The Er3+ centers are octahedral. [2]
Erbium oxide is produced by burning erbium metal. [3] Erbium oxide is insoluble in water but soluble in mineral acids. Er2O3 does not readily absorb moisture and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It can react with acids to form the corresponding erbium(III) salts. For example, with hydrochloric acid, the oxide follows the following idealized reaction leading to erbium chloride:
In practice, such simple acid-base reactions are accompanied by hydration:
One interesting property of erbium oxides is their ability to up convert photons. Photon upconversion takes place when infrared or visible radiation, low energy light, is converted to ultraviolet or violet radiation higher energy light via multiple transfer or absorption of energy. [4] Erbium oxide nanoparticles also possess photoluminescence properties. Erbium oxide nanoparticles can be formed by applying ultrasound (20 kHz, 29 W·cm−2) in the presence of multiwall carbon nanotubes. The erbium oxide nanoparticles that have been produced using ultrasound are erbium carboxioxide, hexagonal and spherical geometry erbium oxide. Each ultrasonically formed erbium oxide exhibits photoluminescence in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum under excitation of wavelength 379 nm in water. Hexagonal erbium oxide photoluminescence is long-lived and allows higher energy transitions (4S3/2 – 4I15/2). Spherical erbium oxide does not undergo 4S3/2 – 4I15/2 energy transitions. [5]
The applications of Er2O3 are varied due to their electrical, optical and photoluminescence properties. Nanoscale materials doped with Er3+ are of much interest because they have special particle-size-dependent optical and electrical properties. [6] Erbium oxide doped nanoparticle materials can be dispersed in glass or plastic for display purposes, such as display monitors. The spectroscopy of Er3+ electronic transitions in host crystals lattices[ clarification needed ][ words missing? ] of nanoparticles combined with ultrasonically formed geometries in aqueous solution of carbon nanotubes is of great interest for synthesis of photoluminescence nanoparticles in "green" chemistry. [5]
Erbium oxide is widely used in interferometers that require high-power lasers. [7] These interferometers often employ erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) to enhance the power of the laser beams. [8] EDFAs, which utilize erbium ions, provide low noise and high gain, making them ideal for long-distance signal transmission and high-resolution measurements in interferometry. [9]
Erbium oxide is among the most important rare earth metals used in biomedicine. [10] The photoluminescence property of erbium oxide nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes makes them useful in biomedical applications. For example, erbium oxide nanoparticles can be surface modified for distribution into aqueous and non-aqueous media for bioimaging. [6] Erbium oxides are also used as gate dielectrics in semiconductor devices since it has a high dielectric constant (10–14) and a large band gap. Erbium is sometimes used as a coloring for glasses, [1] and erbium oxide can also be used as a burnable neutron poison for nuclear fuel.
Impure erbium(III) oxide was isolated by Carl Gustaf Mosander in 1843, and first obtained in pure form in 1905 by Georges Urbain and Charles James. [11]
Erbium is a chemical element; it has symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements. It is a lanthanide, a rare-earth element, originally found in the gadolinite mine in Ytterby, Sweden, which is the source of the element's name.
An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. An optical amplifier may be thought of as a laser without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback from the cavity is suppressed. Optical amplifiers are important in optical communication and laser physics. They are used as optical repeaters in the long distance fiber-optic cables which carry much of the world's telecommunication links.
Neodymium(III) chloride or neodymium trichloride is a chemical compound of neodymium and chlorine with the formula NdCl3. This anhydrous compound is a mauve-colored solid that rapidly absorbs water on exposure to air to form a purple-colored hexahydrate, NdCl3·6H2O. Neodymium(III) chloride is produced from minerals monazite and bastnäsite using a complex multistage extraction process. The chloride has several important applications as an intermediate chemical for production of neodymium metal and neodymium-based lasers and optical fibers. Other applications include a catalyst in organic synthesis and in decomposition of waste water contamination, corrosion protection of aluminium and its alloys, and fluorescent labeling of organic molecules (DNA).
Erbium(III) chloride is a violet solid with the formula ErCl3. It is used in the preparation of erbium metal.
Holmium(III) oxide, or holmium oxide is a chemical compound of the rare-earth element holmium and oxygen with the formula Ho2O3. Together with dysprosium(III) oxide (Dy2O3), holmium oxide is one of the most powerfully paramagnetic substances known. The oxide, also called holmia, occurs as a component of the related erbium oxide mineral called erbia. Typically, the oxides of the trivalent lanthanides coexist in nature, and separation of these components requires specialized methods. Holmium oxide is used in making specialty colored glasses. Glass containing holmium oxide and holmium oxide solutions have a series of sharp optical absorption peaks in the visible spectral range. They are therefore traditionally used as a convenient calibration standard for optical spectrophotometers.
Lanthanum(III) oxide, also known as lanthana, chemical formula La2O3, is an inorganic compound containing the rare earth element lanthanum and oxygen. It is used in some ferroelectric materials, as a component of optical materials, and is a feedstock for certain catalysts, among other uses.
Tantalum pentoxide, also known as tantalum(V) oxide, is the inorganic compound with the formula Ta
2O
5. It is a white solid that is insoluble in all solvents but is attacked by strong bases and hydrofluoric acid. Ta
2O
5 is an inert material with a high refractive index and low absorption, which makes it useful for coatings. It is also extensively used in the production of capacitors, due to its high dielectric constant.
Tungsten disulfide is an inorganic chemical compound composed of tungsten and sulfur with the chemical formula WS2. This compound is part of the group of materials called the transition metal dichalcogenides. It occurs naturally as the rare mineral tungstenite. This material is a component of certain catalysts used for hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrification.
Gadolinium(III) oxide (archaically gadolinia) is an inorganic compound with the formula Gd2O3. It is one of the most commonly available forms of the rare-earth element gadolinium, derivatives, of which are potential contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging.
Caesium cadmium bromide (Cs Cd Br3) is a synthetic crystalline material. It belongs to the AMX3 group (where A = alkali metal, M = bivalent metal, X = halogen ion). Unlike most other bromides, CsCdBr3 is non-hygroscopic, giving it applications as an efficient upconversion material in solar cells. As a single crystal structure doped with rare-earth ions, it can be also used as active laser medium. It is highly transparent in the visible and infrared regions and can be used as a nonlinear optical crystal.
The optical properties of carbon nanotubes are highly relevant for materials science. The way those materials interact with electromagnetic radiation is unique in many respects, as evidenced by their peculiar absorption, photoluminescence (fluorescence), and Raman spectra.
Transparent conducting films (TCFs) are thin films of optically transparent and electrically conductive material. They are an important component in a number of electronic devices including liquid-crystal displays, OLEDs, touchscreens and photovoltaics. While indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most widely used, alternatives include wider-spectrum transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), conductive polymers, metal grids and random metallic networks, carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene, nanowire meshes and ultra thin metal films.
Photon upconversion (UC) is a process in which the sequential absorption of two or more photons leads to the emission of light at shorter wavelength than the excitation wavelength. It is an anti-Stokes type emission. An example is the conversion of infrared light to visible light. Upconversion can take place in both organic and inorganic materials, through a number of different mechanisms. Organic molecules that can achieve photon upconversion through triplet-triplet annihilation are typically polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Inorganic materials capable of photon upconversion often contain ions of d-block or f-block elements. Examples of these ions are Ln3+, Ti2+, Ni2+, Mo3+, Re4+, Os4+, and so on.
Gadonanotube are carbon nanotubes containing superparamagnetic clusters of Gd3+ ions. They are linear molecular magnets and efficient contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The term gadonanotube was introduced in 2005.
Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are nanoscale particles that exhibit photon upconversion. In photon upconversion, two or more incident photons of relatively low energy are absorbed and converted into one emitted photon with higher energy. Generally, absorption occurs in the infrared, while emission occurs in the visible or ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. UCNPs are usually composed of rare-earth based lanthanide- or actinide-doped transition metals and are of particular interest for their applications in in vivo bio-imaging, bio-sensing, and nanomedicine because of their highly efficient cellular uptake and high optical penetrating power with little background noise in the deep tissue level. They also have potential applications in photovoltaics and security, such as infrared detection of hazardous materials.
An erbium-doped waveguide amplifier is a type of an optical amplifier enhanced with erbium. It is a close relative of an EDFA, erbium-doped fiber amplifier, and in fact EDWA's basic operating principles are identical to those of the EDFA. Both of them can be used to amplify infrared light at wavelengths in optical communication bands between 1500 and 1600 nm. However, whereas an EDFA is made using a free-standing fiber, an EDWA is typically produced on a planar substrate, sometimes in ways that are very similar to the methods used in electronic integrated circuit manufacturing. Therefore, the main advantage of EDWAs over EDFAs lies in their potential to be intimately integrated with other optical components on the same planar substrate and thus making EDFAs unnecessary.
Laser-induced white emission (LIWE) is a broadband light in the visible spectral range. This phenomenon was reported for the first time by Jiwei Wang and Peter Tanner in 2010 for fully concentrated lanthanide oxides in vacuum, excited by a focused beam of infrared laser diode operating in continuous wave (CW) mode. The white light emission intensity is exponentially dependent on excitation power density and pressure surrounding the samples. It was found that light emission is assisted by photocurrent generation and hot electron emission.
Erbium(III) acetate is the acetate salt of erbium, with the proposed chemical formula of Er(CH3COO)3. It can be used to synthesize some optical materials.
Terbium compounds are compounds formed by the lanthanide metal terbium (Tb). Terbium generally exhibits the +3 oxidation state in these compounds, such as in TbCl3, Tb(NO3)3 and Tb(CH3COO)3. Compounds with terbium in the +4 oxidation state are also known, such as TbO2 and BaTbF6. Terbium can also form compounds in the 0, +1 and +2 oxidation states.
Erbium compounds are compounds containing the element erbium (Er). These compounds are usually dominated by erbium in the +3 oxidation state, although the +2, +1 and 0 oxidation states have also been reported.