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High-purity rare earth metals are key raw materials for the research and development of high-tech materials and the basis for obtaining high-performance materials. A small amount or even a very small amount of impurities will have a significant impact on their physical and chemical properties. The purity of rare earth metals is a key factor affecting the performance of functional and structural materials. For example, high oxygen concentration in rare earth metals will weaken the intrinsic coercivity of permanent magnetic materials; magnetostrictive materials will almost lose their magnetostrictive function when the mass fraction of oxygen exceeds 1×10^-3; low rare earth purity will lead to unstable performance of rare earth steel.

Magnesium carbon refractory is a high-quality high-temperature refractory material with excellent refractory and mechanical properties, as well as good corrosion resistance, thermal shock resistance and thermal conductivity. Its preparation process is simple, so it is widely used as lining material for electric furnaces, converters and refining furnaces. It is also used in high-temperature reactors, heating furnaces, pipelines and other mechanical equipment in the petroleum, chemical and other industries.

The main characteristics of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) transparent ceramics are: ① The crystal structure is cubic, and there is no birefringence inside the crystal, which can be used as a matrix material for preparing transparent ceramics; ② It has a high melting point, indicating that its physical and chemical properties are stable; ③ High thermal conductivity is conducive to the heat dissipation of the material and reduces the impact of thermal effects on the material; ④ Low phonon energy is conducive to reducing the thermal load of the material and the probability of non-spontaneous radiation transition; ⑤ The wide band gap can be doped with most rare earth ions to achieve applications in different directions. Due to the above characteristics of Y2O3, Y2O3-based transparent ceramics have the potential to be used in infrared windows, laser materials, scintillators, etc.

Cubic zirconia has not been found in nature so far. It is a natural zirconia (monoclinic phase) that undergoes phase change under certain conditions, and changes from tetragonal phase to cubic phase to a high-level structure cubic phase with the most densely packed atoms. With the phase change, its performance also changes from low-level to high-level. Cubic zirconia has properties such as high refractive index, large dispersion, high hardness, and good chemical stability. Its comprehensive effect is very similar to that of diamond, so cubic zirconia is marketed as a substitute for diamond - imitation diamond.

When a lithium battery is about to reach the end of its life, a new molecule can be injected into it to restore its original charging capacity. It can even allow a battery that can only guarantee 6-8 years/1000-1500 charge and discharge cycles to maintain 10,000 charge and discharge cycles, and the battery health level is almost the same as when it left the factory. The relevant research results were recently published in the journal Nature.

At present, there are two main ways to produce hydrogen from solar energy. One is to use solar cells to generate electricity and then electrolyze water, which is highly efficient but the equipment is complex and expensive; the other is to use sunlight to directly decompose water, that is, to use semiconductor materials such as titanium oxide to "one-click" decompose water molecules under sunlight.

High-temperature alloys refer to a type of metal material with Fe, Co, and Ni as the matrix that can serve for a long time at high temperatures above 600°C. They need to withstand high temperature, high pressure, complex stress, and oxidative corrosion working conditions. They are widely used in aerospace engines, gas turbine turbine discs, turbine blades and other hot end components. Among them, Ni-based high-temperature alloys are the most widely used.

The most common application of rare earth fluorides is the raw materials for preparing rare earth metals and alloys by calcium thermal reduction and molten salt electrolysis. For example, in the process of preparing lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium-neodymium and dysprosium-iron alloys by molten salt electrolysis, lanthanum fluoride, cerium fluoride, praseodymium-neodymium fluoride and dysprosium fluoride are important components of molten salt. In the process of preparing medium and heavy rare earth metals such as yttrium, terbium and dysprosium by calcium thermal reduction, yttrium fluoride, terbium fluoride and dysprosium fluoride are one of the indispensable raw materials.

Ytterbium metal has excellent photoelectric properties, such as low work function, high transmittance, relatively high stability and low surface plasma effect. Most rare earth metals react with hydrogen to form trihydrides and break and pulverize, while ytterbium only forms dihydrides under low pressure, which are smaller in size and do not break, which is conducive to the application of hydrogen and its isotopes; within 0 ~ 4 GPa, ytterbium metal will not change phase, and has a high piezoresistance coefficient. It is the best material for pressure sensors and has very important applications in blasting measurement and protection engineering.

As the lightest metal structural material in practical applications, magnesium alloy has the advantages of high specific strength, specific stiffness, good electromagnetic shielding and dimensional stability, and no pollution. Commonly used commercial magnesium alloys have good formability and room temperature strength, but their heat resistance is still poor. Therefore, it is necessary to develop high-strength and heat-resistant magnesium alloys to meet the needs of different usage environments.