Erbium Applications

Erbium is produced in small scales and used mostly for research purposes as phosphor activator (including solid state lasers) and in magnetic materials.

Among complexes with organic ligands beta-diketonates that are used for rare earth elements sublimational group fractionation are very promising, mostly acetylacetonates and dipivaloylmethanates. Beside that complexes with dicarboxylic acids (oxalates, malonates, succinates etc), monocarboxylic acids (up to C30), amines and complexness are also used. The latter ones are used in rare earth elements separation and deep purification by extraction and ion exchange.

Complex erbium compounds are obtained by reactions between oxides, hydroxides as well as Er^III salts solutions with corresponding ligands with following crystallization by evaporating the solutions or salting out. They are used in separation and refining of rare earth elements, lanthanides, actinides and so on. Quite often such sustahces are semiproducts in obtaining other materials, such as halogenide, oxide and other types of glasses, ceramics with high-temperature superconducting properties etc.