Er or Erbium is the rare earth metal that is the 12th member of the lanthanide series. Let us discuss some facts related to erbium in this article.
Erbium is silvery white solid metal that is not found in nature rather it formed a chemical combination of other elements. Gadolinite is the main ore of the erbium metal. Erbium has a fluorescent property and the cation is pink in color.
In this article, we will discuss the position of erbium in the periodic table, melting as well as boiling point, oxidation state, ionization energy, allotrope, isotopes and many related facts.
1. Erbium symbol
The atomic symbol of Erbium is “Er” as it is abbreviated from the English alphabet.
2. Erbium group in the periodic table
The group of Erbium in the periodic table is unknown because all lanthanide elements are present in between the 3rd and 4th groups of the periodic table. The poor shielding effect of 4f is responsible for the lanthanide contraction.
3. Erbium period in the periodic table
Erbium belongs to period 6 in the periodic table because it has more than 54 electrons in the valence shell. Up to period 5, there will be 54th elements that are well placed, so the remaining 14 electrons get the 6th period in the lanthanide series.
4. Erbium block in the periodic table
Erbium is an f-block element because the valence electrons are present in the f orbital. It also has s, p, and d orbitals but the outermost electrons are present in the 4f orbital according to the Aufbau principle.
5. Erbium atomic number
The atomic number of Erbium is 68, which means it has 68 protons because the number of protons is always equal to the number of electrons.
6. Erbium atomic Weight
The atomic weight of Erbium is 167 on the 12C scale which means the weight of Erbium is the 167/12th part of the weight of the carbon element.
7. Erbium Electronegativity according to Pauling
The electronegativity of Erbium is 1.24 according to the Pauling scale. Er is a rare earth metal so it possesses an electropositive character which reflects in its electronegativity value.
8. Erbium atomic Density
The atomic density of Erbium is 9.066 g/cm3 which can be calculated by dividing the mass of Erbium by its volume.
9. Erbium melting point
The melting point of Erbium lies between 15290C or 1802K temperature because it is ductile metal so the van der Waal’s force of attraction in the crystal form is high.
10. Erbium boiling point
The boiling point of Erbium is 28680C or 3141K because it is a heavier metal and metal needs more energy to boil off to gain the same pressure as the atmosphere.
11. Erbium Van der Waals radius
The van der Waal’s radius of Erbium is 189 pm because it has 6s which has more spatial distribution but also has relativistic contraction and 4f orbital so it has a poor screening effect. So, the nucleus attraction force for the outermost orbital increases, and this decreases the radius.
12. Erbium ionic radius
The ionic radius of Erbium is 189 pm which is the same as the covalent radius because for Erbium the cation and anion are the same and it is not an ionic molecule. Rather, it forms by the covalent interaction between two Erbium atoms.
13. Erbium isotopes
Elements having the same number of electrons but different mass numbers are called isotopes of the original element. Let us discuss the isotopes of Erbium.
Erbium has 65 isotopes depending on the neutral numbers which are –
- 142Er
- 143Er
- 144Er
- 145Er
- 145mEr
- 146Er
- 147Er
- 147mEr
- 148Er
- 148mEr
- 149Er
- 149m1Er
- 149m2Er
- 149m3Er
- 150Er
- 150mEr
- 151Er
- 151m1Er
- 151m2Er
- 152Er
- 153Er
- 153m1Er
- 153m2Er
- 154Er
- 155Er
- 156Er
- 157Er
- 157mEr
- 158Er
- 159Er
- 159m1Er
- 159m2Er
- 160Er
- 161Er
- 161mEr
- 162Er
- 162mEr
- 163Er
- 163mEr
- 164Er
- 165Er
- 165m1Er
- 165m2Er
- 166Er
- 167Er
- 167mEr
- 168Er
- 168mEr
- 169Er
- 169m1Er
- 169m2Er
- 170Er
- 171Er
- 171mEr
- 172Er
- 172mEr
- 173Er
- 174Er
- 174mEr
- 175Er
- 176Er
- 177Er
- 178Er
- 179Er
- 180Er
Only 11 isotopes of Erbium are stable which are discussed below –
| Isotope | Natural Abundance |
Half-life | Emitting particles |
No. of Neutron |
| 160Er | Synthetic | 28.58 h | € | 92 |
| 162Er | 0.139% | stable | N/A | 94 |
| 164Er | 1.601% | stable | N/A | 96 |
| 165Er | Synthetic | 10.36 h | € | 97 |
| 166Er | 33.503% | Stable | N/A | 98 |
| 167Er | 22.869% | stable | N/A | 99 |
| 168Er | 26.978% | stable | N/A | 100 |
| 169Er | Synthetic | 9.4 d | β | 101 |
| 170Er | 14.910% | stable | N/A | 102 |
| 171Er | Synthetic | 7.516 h | β | 103 |
| 172Er | Synthetic | 49.3 h | β | 104 |
14. Erbium electronic shell
The shell surrounding the nucleus as per principal quantum number and holding the electrons is called an electronic shell. Let us discuss the electronic shell of Erbium.
The electronic shell distribution of Erbium is 2 8 18 30 8 2 because it has s, p, d, and f orbitals around the nucleus. Since it has more than 54 electrons and to arrange 68 electrons it needs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7th orbitals.
15. Erbium electron configurations
The electronic configuration of Erbium is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 4f12 5s2 5p6 6s2 because it has 58 electrons and those electrons should be placed to the nearest orbital of the nucleus s, p, d, and f orbitals and denoted as [Xe]4f126s2.
16. Erbium energy of first ionization
The first ionization value for Erbium is 589.3 KJ/mol because the electron is removed from the 6s orbital which is subject to relativistic contraction.
17. Erbium energy of second ionization
The 2nd ionization energy of Erbium is 1150 KJ/mol because, in the 2nd ionization, electrons are removed from the same 6s orbital. Upon 2nd ionization, Er does not lose its stability but the 2nd electron is removed from the excited state so it require much energy.
18. Erbium energy of third ionization
The third ionization energy for Erbium is 2194 KJ/mol because the third ionization occurs from 4f which has a poor shielding effect so the energy required is very high as Er lacks 5d orbital.
19. Erbium oxidation states
Erbium shows 0, +1, +2, +3, oxidation state because of the availability of electrons in its 6s and 4f orbitals and all the above oxidation state is stable for Er. But +3 is the common oxidation state of lanthanide elements.
20. Erbium CAS number
The CAS number of the Erbium molecule is 7440-52-0, which is given by the chemical abstracts service.
21. Erbium Chem Spider ID
The Chem Spider ID for Erbium is 22416. By using this number, we can evaluate all the chemical data related to the Erbium atom.
22. Erbium allotropic forms
Allotropes are elements or molecules with similar chemical properties but different physical properties. Let us discuss the allotropic form of Erbium.
Erbium has no allotropic form rather it has a poor shielding effect.
23. Erbium chemical classification
Erbium is classified into the following categories:
- Er is the rare earth element
- Er is colored lanthanide soft metal
- Er is a basic oxide
24. Erbium state at room temperature
Erbium exists in a solid at room temperature because it exists in the hexagonal close-packed lattice structure.
25. Is Erbium paramagnetic?
Paramagnetism is the tendency of magnetization in the direction of the magnetic field. Let us see whether Erbium is paramagnetic or not.
Erbium is paramagnetic because it has two unpaired electrons in its 4f and due to heavier elements, the magnetic moment not only depends on spin-only value but also there is some orbital contribution present.
Conclusion
Erbium is a lanthanide metal element having a colored cation in the +3 oxidation state. Er is used as optical fibre.
Read more about Erbium Electron Configuration
Hi……I am Biswarup Chandra Dey, I have completed my Master’s in Chemistry from the Central University of Punjab. My area of specialization is Inorganic Chemistry. Chemistry is not all about reading line by line and memorizing, it is a concept to understand in an easy way and here I am sharing with you the concept about chemistry which I learn because knowledge is worth to share it.