Erbium hexaboride

Erbium hexaboride (ErB₆) is a rare-earth hexaboride compound containing the element erbium, which has a calcium hexaboride crystal structure.

Erbium hexaboride

Identifiers
CAS Number	12046-33-2
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
ChemSpider	64886481
ECHA InfoCard	100.031.775
EC Number	234-966-1
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID901045541
InChI InChI=1S/6B.Er Key: WXPXCBAWWAGCCB-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES [Er].[B].[B].[B].[B].[B].[B]
Properties
Chemical formula	B6Er
Molar mass	232.12 g·mol−1
Related compounds
Related compounds	Erbium tetraboride
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

It is one of the fundamental compounds formed in reactions between erbium and boron. The compound is isostructural with all other reported rare-earth hexaboride compounds including lanthanum hexaboride, samarium hexaboride, and cerium hexaboride.^[1] Due to the isostructural nature of the rare-earth hexaborides and the strong interaction of boron octahedra within the crystal, these compounds show a high degree of lattice matching which suggests the possibility of doping by substituting one rare earth metal within the crystal with another.^[2][3] Until recently, it had been hypothesized that erbium hexaboride was unstable due to the small size of the Er³⁺ cation within the crystal structure when compared to the ionic radii of other rare-earth elements that form known rare-earth hexaboride compounds.^[4] It has now been demonstrated, however, that new nanoscale synthetic methods are capable of producing high-purity, stable erbium hexaboride nanowires. These wires, produced using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), have a reported lattice constant of 4.1 Å.^[5]