Chemical properties of Erbium

The few known compounds of erbium have been described mainly by Cleve.

Erbium has been described as a dark grey, metallic powder of density 4.77 at 15°. The material was probably impure. Erbium salts are pink or rose-red in colour, have a sweet, astringent taste, and exhibit characteristic absorption spectra. Certain erbium preparations have been found to exhibit signs of radioactivity.