Exploratory Study on the Preparation of Metallic Europium Vacuum Aluminothermic Reduction of Eu₂O₃

In this work, the feasibility of using metallic aluminum (Al) as a reductant to replace metallic lanthanum (La) in the vacuum reduction of europium oxide (Eu₂O₃) forthe preparation of metallic europium (Eu) was investigated. Thermodynamic calculations of the Al‐Eu₂O₃ system were first conducted, followed by orthogonal experiments to examine the effects of reaction temperature, excess reductant ratio, and holding time on the reduction behavior and product characteristics. The results show that under reaction conditions of 1200°C, a reductant excess ratio of 1.3, and a holding time of 2 h, the average recovery rate of metallic Eu reached 48.4%, with a purity > 99.9%. Phase analysis of the reduction residues revealed the formation of Al‐Eu alloy phases and an intermediate product, Eu₄Al₂O₉. Based on phase diagram calculations and microstructural characterization, a preliminary discussion was conducted on the formation mechanism of the intermediate phase and its influence on metal yield. This study provides a fundamental feasibility evaluation of vacuum aluminothermic reduction for rare-earth metal preparation and offers new insights into developing cost-effective reduction systems for high-purity rare-earth metals.