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Article: Europium
- Article from:
- Chemistry: Foundations and Applications
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Europium
melting point:
1,099K
boiling point:
1,800K
density:
5,244/kg m
−
3
most common ions:
Eu
3+
, Eu
2+
Europium is a metallic element discovered in 1901 in Paris by the French scientist Eug
è
ne-Anatole Demarcay. It belongs to a series of elements called
lanthanides
, or 4f elements, extending from lanthanum (atomic number 57) to lutetium (atomic number 71). These elements have low abundances: Europium occurrence in Earth's crust is only 2.1 ppm (parts per million), that is, 2.1 grams (0.07 ounces) per metric ton, and in seawater, its concentration is as low as 4
×
10
−
8
ppm.
As a
metal
, europium is very reactive so that one usually finds it under its ...