Europium (Eu): Essential for LED Red Phosphors, Advanced Display Screens, and Anti-Counterfeiting Technologies

Europium (Eu) is the softest and most volatile rare earth element. It oxidizes easily in air, with density: 5.24g/cm³ (tetragonal crystal), melting point: 826°C, boiling point: 1527°C. As the most reactive rare earth metal: at room temperature, europium immediately loses metallic luster in air and quickly oxidizes to powder; reacts violently with cold water to produce hydrogen; reacts with boron, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc.

Applications

Primarily used as red phosphor in LED lighting

Product Series

Health and Safety Information

Packaging Specifications

• Standard packaging: 50 kg/drum, 500 kg/pallet, ton bags
• Sample packaging: 500 g/bag, 1 kg/bottle

Production Method
After separating europium from other rare earth elements via ion exchange or solvent extraction, metallic europium can be prepared by metallothermic reduction. Unlike calcium thermal reduction of rare earth chlorides, lithium thermal reduction occurs in the gas phase. The lithium thermal reactor has two heating zones, combining reduction and distillation in one device. Anhydrous europium chloride is placed in the upper titanium crucible (also serving as EuCl₃ distillation chamber), while lithium metal reductant is placed in the lower crucible. The stainless steel reaction vessel is evacuated to 7Pa before heating. At 1000°C, EuCl₃ vapor fully reacts with lithium vapor, and reduced europium metal particles collect in the lower crucible. After completion, only the lower crucible is heated to distill LiCl to the upper crucible. The reduction process typically takes 10 hours. For high-purity europium (99.97%), doubly distilled anhydrous EuCl₃ and high-purity lithium are used.