描述
Europium, also known as 63eu or europio, is a member of the class of compounds known as homogeneous lanthanide compounds. Homogeneous lanthanide compounds are inorganic compounds containing only metal atoms, with the largest atom being a lanthanide atom. Europium can be found in a number of food items such as carrot, black-eyed pea, black walnut, and red beetroot, which makes europium a potential biomarker for the consumption of these food products. Europium is a chemical element with symbol Eu and atomic number 63. It was isolated in 1901 and is named after the continent of Europe. It is a moderately hard, silvery metal which readily oxidizes in air and water. Being a typical member of the lanthanide series, europium usually assumes the oxidation state +3, but the oxidation state +2 is also common. All europium compounds with oxidation state +2 are slightly reducing. Europium has no significant biological role and is relatively non-toxic compared to other heavy metals. Most applications of europium exploit the phosphorescence of europium compounds. Europium is one of the least abundant elements in the universe; only about 5×10−8% of all matter in the universe is europium .