Acetates Borates

Erbium (atomic symbol: Er, atomic number: 68) is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element with an atomic radius of 167.259. The erbium atom has a radius of 176 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 235 pm. The number of electrons in each of Erbium's shells is [2, 8, 18, 30, 8, 2] and its electron configuration is [Xe]4f¹² 6s². Sources of Erbium include the mineral monazite and sand ores. In its elemental form, erbium is soft and malleable it is fairly stable in air and does not oxidize as rapidly as some of the other rare earth metals. Erbiums ions fluoresce in a bright pink color, making them highly useful for imaging and optical applications.

Erbium-doped semiconductors have attracted much attention over decades, because the transition of Er intra-4f shell can cause an emission near 1.54 m which lies in a wavelength range of a minimum loss for silica optical fiber. It has been reported that oxygen co-doped can enhance the 1.54 m emission and use of wide band gap host material can reduce the thermal quenching, leading to good emission at room temperature.

All metallic acetates are inorganic salts containing a metal cation and the acetate anion, a univalent (-1 charge) polyatomic ion composed of two carbon atoms ionically bound to three hydrogen and two oxygen atoms (Symbol: CH₃COO) for a overall formula weight of 59.05. Acetates are exceptional precursors for fabrication of ultra high purity compounds, catalysts, and nanoscale materials.

Erbium III Acetate Hydrate is a moderately water soluble crystalline Erbium source that decomposes to Erbium oxide on heating. It is normally instantaneously available in most volumes. With the help of different experiments, it has been proved that if the temperature reaches up to 590°C, the amorphous Er₂O₂CO₃ decomposes endothermally to give Er₂O₃ as a final decomposition product.

In recent years, rare-earth (RE) doped nanocrystals have attracted a great deal of attention due to particle-size dependent optical properties, which lead to their potential application in phosphors,display monitor, optical communication, and two-photon fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, RE ions, especially trivalence erbium, are much suitable for the conversion of infrared to visible light (upconversion) due to a favorable electronic energy level structure.