Europium

McLennan, Scott M.

doi:10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_119

Scott M. McLennan

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Science ((EESS))

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Europium (Eu) is a very reactive silvery metal (the most reactive of the REE) with atomic number (Z) of 63, electronic configuration of [Xe]4f⁷5d⁰6s², atomic weight of 151.965 and melting point of 1095 K. It is a Group IIIB inner transition element and one of the lanthanide and rare earth elements. Europium has two natural isotopes, ¹⁵¹Eu (47.82%) and ¹⁵³Eu (52.18%), neither being radioactive. Discovered in 1886 and purified in 1901, Eu is named after Europe.

Europium is typically a trace element in most rocks and minerals. It is refractory and under most conditions is lithophile and found in the trivalent state. Under highly reducing conditions, such as found in magmatic environments, Eu³⁺ is reduced to Eu²⁺ leading to a 17% increase in size (Eu²⁺ is essentially identical in size to Sr²⁺) and anomalous geochemical behavior. The major importance of europium in geochemistry is that it is one of the middle rare earth elements (or lanthanides), among the most useful trace elements in all...

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