ErO₁₂WY₅
rare earth oxide · rare earth ceramicEr1O12W1Y5 is a rare earth oxide suitable as rare earth ceramic. Color: neutral. Fired at 1200°C from 3 precursors (Y2O3, WO3, Er2O3). Workshop batch: 100g at €46.04. Compressive strength ~100 MPa; estimated 0.90 kg CO₂/kg (+309% vs clay brick). Notable: uv luminescent, electrochromic tungstate. Confidence: medium.
- forms at
- 1200 °C · high-fire
- replaces
- clay brick
- CO₂
- 309% higher than clay brick (0.90 vs 0.22 kg CO₂/kg; 4.1× higher)
- energy
- 100% higher than clay brick (6.00 vs 3.00 MJ/kg; 2.0× higher)
- compressive
- 100 MPa
- density
- 6.22 g/cm³
- crystal
- triclinic
- band gap
- 3.44 eV
- cost
- €460.40/kg · €46.04 / 100 g batch
- confidence
- medium (synthesis route)
- potential
- 0.37 · env 0.00 · novel 1.00 · struct 0.20 · lineage 0.50 · supply 0.10
- flags
- uv luminescent: Converts invisible ultraviolet into visible light. Signage panels, low-energy wayfinding tiles, emergency markings that draw their illumination from daylight rather than mains power. electrochromic tungstate: A voltage-switchable optical chemistry. In thin-film form a small DC signal shifts transmission from clear to tinted blue, opening the door to dimmable glazing and responsive partitions that do not need mechanical shading.
Architectural potential
An erbium-yttrium-tungstate ceramic fired at 1200 °C into a dense luminescent body at 6.22 g/cm³ and 100 MPa of compression. The rare-earth content carries two distinct functional signals: erbium emits a characteristic green glow under ultraviolet excitation, and the tungstate matrix supports the clear-to-blue electrochromic shift under DC bias. The combination is architecturally specific — a tile whose surface can both glow under UV (emergency wayfinding, dusk signage) and switch tint under electrical drive (privacy, solar-gain control) in the same body. Natural placements are stair-edge nosing strips in dim public interiors, operating-theatre wall-insert panels where both UV-disinfection marking and privacy tinting matter, and threshold plates in heritage-museum galleries that emit directional glow during out-of-hours cleaning cycles. Supplements conventional ceramic cladding rather than replacing it. The caveat is supply-chain and cost: erbium sits at 0.14 on the supply-chain score, €46.04 per 100 g batch with a 300 g ceiling keeps specification at the accent-tile scale, and the embodied CO₂ runs three hundred and nine per cent above fired clay brick. Each of the two functional flags has to earn its carbon back through genuine use over decades, not through a single demonstrator moment.
Material character
Neutral pale-grey body at rest, the yttrium-tungstate matrix carrying a faint pink cast under raking light from the erbium content. At 6.22 g/cm³ in a 70×70×33 mm block the slab is firmly two-handed, close in weight register to a dense architectural porcelain but heavier-ringing when tapped. Surface vitrified semi-matte from the 1200 °C fire, the yttrium-tungstate matrix taking a slightly harder skin than the bismuth-tellurate sibling; edges cold-cut with a fine kerf bloom along the shoulder. Under 365 nm ultraviolet the face shifts to a saturated green emission, distinct from the salmon of the neodymium sibling and more intense per unit area. The electrochromic blue state is invisible in the unwired sample and belongs in a separate biased-state companion image.
Recipe
100 g batch · peak 1200 °C| element | precursor | formula | mass | safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Er | erbium oxide | Er2O3 | 19.37 g | moderate |
| W | tungsten trioxide (yellow) | WO3 | 23.47 g | moderate |
| Y | yttrium oxide | Y2O3 | 57.16 g | moderate |
- 1Ramp
- 2Hold
- 3Ramp
- 4Ramp
- 5Hold
- 6Ramp
- 7Ramp
UV-luminescent — emits visible light under 365 nm UV
Electrochromic — color switches under applied voltage (thin-film chemistry)