Isotopes of erbium

Isotope data
erbium symbol icon

Erbium has six stable isotopes but only Er-168 appears to have a well established application. Er-168 is used for the production of Er-169 which is used in form of citrate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Erbium isotopes can be obtained from Trace Sciences International.

Naturally occurring isotopes

This table shows information about naturally occuring isotopes, their atomic masses, their natural abundances, their nuclear spins, and their magnetic moments. Further data for radioisotopes (radioactive isotopes) of erbium are listed (including any which occur naturally) below.
Isotope Atomic mass (ma/u) Natural abundance (atom %) Nuclear spin (I) Magnetic moment (μ/μN)
162Er 161.928775 (4) 0.14 (1) 0
164Er 163.929198 (4) 1.61 (3) 0
166Er 165.930290 (4) 33.61 (35) 0
167Er 166.932046 (4) 22.93 (17) 7/2 -0.5665
168Er 167.932368 (4) 26.78 (26) 0
170Er 169.935461 (4) 14.93 (27) 0

Isotopic abundances of Er
In the above picture, the most intense ion is set to 100% since this corresponds best to the output from a mass spectrometer. This is not to be confused with the relative percentage isotope abundances which total 100% for all the naturally occurring isotopes.

Radiosotope data

Further data for naturally occuring isotopes of erbium are listed above. This table gives information about some radiosotopes of erbium, their masses, their half-lives, their modes of decay, their nuclear spins, and their nuclear magnetic moments.
Isotope Mass Half-life Mode of decay Nuclear spin Nuclear magnetic moment
160Er 159.92908 1.19 d EC to 160Ho 0
161Er 160.9300 3.21 h EC to 161Ho 3/2 -0.37
163Er 162.93003 1.25 h EC to 163Ho 5/2 0.557
165Er 164.930723 10.36 h EC to 165Ho 5/2 0.643
169Er 168.934588 9.40 d β- to 169Tm 1/2 0.515
171Er 170.938026 7.52 h β- to 171Tm 5/2 0.66
172Er 171.939352 2.05 d β- to 172Tm

Sheffield ChemPuter isotope pattern calculator

You can use WebElements to calculate an isotope pattern for an arbitrary chemical formula:

Edit this formula :

Note the following when entering your formula:

  • Correctly nested brackets [{()}] are OK
  • 'Pseudoelements' such as Me, Ph, Cp, and many others are OK
  • Compound names and element names such as 'water' or 'manganese' are not OK
  • Experiment with your formula to see what is possible

References

  1. Naturally occurring isotope abundances: Commission on Atomic Weights and Isotopic Abundances report for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in Isotopic Compositions of the Elements 1989, Pure and Applied Chemistry, 1998, 70, 217. [Copyright 1998 IUPAC]
  2. Masses, nuclear spins, and magnetic moments: I. Mills, T. Cvitas, K. Homann, N. Kallay, and K. Kuchitsu in Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK, 1988. [Copyright 1988 IUPAC]
  3. For further information about radioisotopes see Jonghwa Chang's (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) Table of the Nuclides

WebElements Shop

WebElements now has an online shop at which you can buy periodic table posters, mugs, T-shirts, games, molecular models, and more.

WebElements poster Periodic table t-shirts Periodic table mouse mats Molymod molecular model kits Periodic table card games

Isotope data Crystal structure Electronic data History Geology Atom sizes Compounds
erbium atomic number