Europium(II) chloride is an inorganic compound with a chemical formula EuCl2. When it is irradiated by ultraviolet light, it has bright blue fluorescence.
Preparation Europium dichloride can be produced by reducing europium trichloride with hydrogen gas at high temperature:Klemm, Wilhelm; Doll, Walter. Measurements on the bivalent and the quadrivalent compounds of the rare earths. VI. The halides of bivalent europium. Zeitschrift für Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie, 1939. 241: 233–238. . 2 EuCl3 + H2 → 2 EuCl2 + 2 HCl
Dry europium trichloride reacts with lithium borohydride in THF solution to also produce europium dichloride:Rossmanith, K.; Muckenhuber, E. Reaction of rare earth chlorides with lithium borohydride. II. Monatshefte fuer Chemie, 1961. 92: 600–604. . 2 EuCl3 + 2 LiBH4 → 2 EuCl2 + 2 LiCl + H2 + B2H6
Properties Europium dichloride can form yellow ammonia complexes:EuCl2•8NH3, and can dissolve to pale yellowish EuCl2•NH3. Europium dichloride can react with europium hydride at 120-bar H2, producing EuClH that fluoresces green.
References