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Europium Eu
Where is europium used--or where does it impact your everyday life?
A compound of europium is used in the dye in some euro banknotes to make them difficult to counterfeit.
The yellow stars on the notes fluoresce in black light, UV light
Europium
Symbol: Eu Atomic #: 63
Atomic mass: 152 g/mol
Solid at room temperature
Melting point: 822 oC (1511 oF)
Boiling point: 1529 oC (2784 oF)
Density (at room temperature) 5.259 g/mL
Eu’s metal dust is an explosion hazard.
Europium metal tarnishes slowly in air
Eu burns readily to form europium (III) oxide, Eu2O3
Forms europium hydroxide, Eu(OH)3, and hydrogen gas (H2).
Electron configuration: 2, 8, 18, 25, 8, 2
Source LANL.gov
Researcher: Lorenzo P
To the left are glow-in-the-dark stars arranged in the Orion, Ursa Major constellations by Alya A-K. The material is phosphorescent and absorbs energy quickly but releases it slowly as light. One effective phosphorescent material is strontium aluminate, SrAl2O4
There is often europium present which activates the photoluminescent phosphor, .SrAl2O4.Eu Photographer Alya A-K