Determination of Light Rare Earths by a Spectrophoto-metry Based on the Linear Combination of Multiwavelength Data

The present paper proposes a new method of spectrophotometry based on linear combination of multiwavelength data by means of selecting a set of properly weighted coefficients and combination methods. It is clear that the weighted combination absorbance attained is only in direct proportion to the concentration of the analysed component and independent of coexisting interferents.The accuracy of the analytical results is improved greatly for the analysis of light rare earths with the coexistence of heavy rare earths.The analyti- cal error from the reagent blank and co-coloration of light and heavy rare earths have also been overcome. The greatly improved linearity and additivity of absorbance are obtained.

Effects of Light and Heavy Rare Earths on Anti-Degradation of Nodular Cast Iron

The effects of rare earths with different contents on anti-degradation of Y base heavy rare earths-magnesium and cerium base light rare earths-magnesium nodular cast iron were studied. Curves of the relationship between the spheroidization grade of liguid iron treated by different nodulizers and holding time were obtained. The results show that the more the remains of the rare earth, the longer the anti-degradation time, the liquid iron was treated either by Y-Mg-Si or by Ce-Mg-Si nodulizer. When the rare earth remains are above certain quantity, the spheroidization grade starts to decline. When liquid iron treated by either Y-Mg-Si or Ce-Mg-Si nodulizer with proper remains of rare earths about 0.04% 0.06%（mass fraction）, the anti-degradation is the best, and the remains of Mg being about 0.04% -0.07% （mass fraction）. Rare earths-Mg nodulizer with moderate RE remains is better than that of Mg-Si nodulizer in anti-degradation property. However, Y-Mg-Si nodulizer with moderate remins of Re is better than Ce-Mg-Si nodulizer. Sometimes Ce-Mg- Si nodulizer can be used for the production of heavy section nodular cast iron.

Effects of Substrate Complexing Light Rare Earth on Growth,Cd Absorption and Organ Distribution of Sweet Pepper(Capsicum annuum var.annuum)

[Objective] The aim was to research effects of substrate complexing light rare earth on growth, Cd absorption and organ distribution of sweet pepper to pro- vide references for development of rhizosphere regulation products in farmland seri- ously polluted. [Method] In the test, effects of substrate cakes （at the same size） and light rare earth （in different doses） on growth, Cd absorption and distribution of green peppers under stress from Cd were explored with a pot experiment. [Result] When 40 mg/kg of rare earth was added into a substrate cake, plant height of pep- per seedlings and the dry weight increased by 21.52% and 11.11%, compared with control group; when Cd was at 5.19 mg/kg （a highly graded pollution）, the shoot biomass, olant biomass and dry weight of fruits all enhanced significantly, but root system changed little in the groups where substrate cakes were saved, compared with the group where the substrate cake was washed away. No matter RE was added into substrate cakes or not, root system was significantly inhibited by Cd stress （5.19 mg/kg）, but RE at proper dose improved growth of green pepper and had little effect on fruit yielding. In addition, RE had little inhibition on Cd content in roots. RE at 10 mg/kg promoted Cd contents in stems and leaves, but reduced the content in fruits substantially. The regressive equation of Cd content and rare dose in leaves was as follows： y=4E-05x%0.009 6x＋0.655 6, FF=0.542 6; the regression equations of Cd content in root, stem and fruit did not make sense. [Conclusion] The experiment lays foundation for further research on heavy metals rhizosphere complexing controlling.

Correlations between Light Rare Earth Elements in Soil and Navel Orange Tree System in Gannan Area

The total content of light rare earth elements( LREEs) in the soil of navel orange orchards of Gannan area is greater than that of heavy rare earth elements( HREEs). Appropriate content of LREE can not only promote the growth of navel oranges,and it is also conducive to human health. On the basis of exploring the correlations between the content of LREE in the soil of navel orange orchards of Gannan area and the contents of LREE in navel orange leaves and fruit,the influence mechanism of LREEs on the quality of navel oranges was revealed. In this study,with two Newhall navel orange orchards with different soil LREEs background levels in Xinfeng County as the research object,the changes in the content of LREE( lanthanum,La; cerium,Ce; praseodymium,Pr; neodymium,Nd) in leaves and fruit of navel orange at different growth stages were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry( ICP-MS),and the correlations between the content of LREE in the soil,navel orange leaves and navel orange fruit were studied. The results showed that the contents of the four kinds of LREEs in the soil ranked as Ce > La > Nd > Pr,and there were significant differences among them( P < 0. 01). Navel orange leaves and fruit have selective and heterogenic absorption for LREEs. At different growth stages,La showed the highest accumulation amount in the leaves and fruit of navel orange; and the content of LREE in the leaves of navel orange increased first and then decreased,while that in the fruit of navel orange showed continuous decrease. During the migration of LREEs from soil to leaves to fruit,the content of LREE decreased rapidly as the migration distance increased. The accumulation amount of LREE in navel orange was positively correlated with the content of LREE in the soil. The correlation between the content of LREE in the leaves and fruit of navel orange was greatest. Among the four kinds of LREEs,the correlation of La was greatest,followed by Ce,indicating that the accumulation amount of LREE in the navel orange body was affected by the element types.

New Technology “Flotation to Form Agglomerates and Magnetic Separation” Allows Great Breakthrough for World Low-Grade Light Rare Earth Ores

Rare earth resources are relatively scarce worldwide, but their global consumption is increasing year-by-year. At present, China has about 36% of the global rare earth reserves, but provides 90% of the world＇s supply, which has generally met world demand and promoted the development of the world economy. In order to continuously and stably supply rare earths to international markets, the Chinese Government has financially supported the Institute of Multipurpose Utilization of Mineral Resources within the China Geological Survey to study the utilization of low-grade rare earth ores. Following many years of experimental research, the project has developed a new technology entitled ＂Flotation to Form Agglomerates and then Magnetic Separation＂, which will bring a technological revolution to the world＇s light rare earth ore dressing.

Application of Simultaneous Technique of Capillary Zone Electrophoresis Photothermal Interference Spectrometry for Monitoring Chelating Reaction of Light Rare Earth with Tribromoarsenazo

A novel high sensihtity, small-volume photothermal intheence detector has beenintroduced for capillap zone electrophoresis separation analysis. The utility of thes sdriulboconstecheque for momtomp chelating reachon of light rare earth with tribromoarsenazo has beenreported.

Study on preparation technique and properties of magnetostrictive epoxy bonded Tb_(1–x)Pr_x(Fe_(0.4)Co_(0.6))_(1.93) composites

The magnetic and magnetostrictive properties of epoxy bonded Tb1-xPrx（Fe0.4Co0.6）1.93 （0.85≤x≤1.00） composites, prepared with different epoxy proportions using cold compression-molding technique, were investigated. It is found that the optimal conditions were with a compaction pressure of 100 MPa and a mass ratio of resin to powder of 5：100. The Tb0.1Pr0.9（Fe0.4Co0.6）1.93 composite rod had a high magnetostriction of 770 ppm at an applied magnetic field of 960 kA/m, whereas the Pr（Fe0.4Co0.6）1.93 composite reached 500 ppm at 400 kA/m. The good magnetostrictive properties of Pr（Fe0.4Co0.6）1.93 composite at low-field （≤400 kA/m） could be explained by its low anisotropy. These results indicated that the epoxy bonded Tb1-xPrx（Fe0.4Co0.6）1.93 rod samples for high Pr content of x=0.9-1.0 were of practical value.

Structure and magnetostriction of Tb_(0.4)Nd_(0.6)(Fe_(0.8)Co_(0.2))_(1.90) alloy prepared by solid-state synthesis

Mechanical alloying (MA) and subsequent solid sintering process was used to prepare the Nd-containing magnetostrictive Tb0.4Nd0.6(Fe0.8Co0.2)1.90 alloy. The structure, thermal stability and phase transformation were investigated as functions of composition, milling process and annealing temperature. An amorphous phase was formed by high-energy ball milling for 5 h with the ball-to-powder weight ratio of 20:1, which crystallized into MgCu2-type and PuNi3-type crystalline structure with different annealing temperatures. The magnetoelastic properties were investigated by means of a standard strain technique. The high Nd-content (Tb,Nd)(Fe,Co)2 Laves phase for the composition Tb0.4Nd0.6(Fe0.8Co0.2)1.90 was synthesized by MA process plus annealing at 500 ℃ for 30 min.

Solvent extraction and separation of light rare earth elements (La, Pr and Nd) in the presence of lactic acid as a complexing agent by Cyanex 272 in kerosene and the effect of citric acid,acetic acid and Titriplex Ⅲ as auxiliary agents

At present, the use of rare earth elements（REEs） has become an inevitable necessity in many modern industries. In general, liquid extraction is the best commercial method for extracting REEs due to its ability to control high volumes of liquids with electrical load. With the aim of improving a separation technology that would be superior to the existing extraction systems, the extraction behaviors of La（Ⅲ）,Pr（Ⅲ）, and Nd（Ⅲ） from an HCI medium with Cyanex 272 in the presence of the complexing agent lactic acid（HLac） and auxiliary agents citric acid（H3 Cit）, acetic acid（HAc）, and Titriplex Ⅲ have been reported.The effect of pH and lactic acid concentration has been examined. The use of lactic acid as a complexing agent leading to a high extraction of REEs with Cyanex 272 at pH = 5 was compared with systems without lactic acid. The results show that the use of acetic acid along with lactic acid leads to an increase in the extraction percentage of LREEs. While use of citric acid and Titriplex Ⅲ reduces the extraction percentage of LREEs. Finally, the presence of Titriplex Ⅲ together with lactic acid could lead to an increase in the separation factor of Pr and Nd.

CeO_2-TiO_2 as a visible light active catalyst for the photoreduction of CO_2 to methanol

The performance of CeO2-TiO2 photocatalyst for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into methanol was studied under visible light irradiation. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized for their structural, textural and optical properties using X-ray diffraction（XRD）, field emission scanning electron microscopy（FESEM）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）, nitrogen physisorption analysis, UV-vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence（PL） spectroscopy. The characterization results indicated that the presence of CeO2 stabilized the anatase phase of TiO2, decreased its crystallite size, increased the surface area, reduced the band gap energy and lowered the rate of electron-hole pair recombination. The CeO2-TiO2 photocatalyst showed an increased methanol yield of 18.6 μmol/g under visible light irradiation, compared to the bare TiO2（6.0 μmol/g）.

Effect of light conversion agent on luminous properties of a new down-converting material SrAl_2O_4:Eu^(2+),Dy^(3+)/light conversion agent

A new luminous material SrAl2O4：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋/light conversion agent that can emit red light in the darkness after being excited was fabricated by combining light conversion agent on to SrAl2O4：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋ particles through YsiX3.The morphology of the luminous materials was analyzed by scan electron microscopy（SEM）.The emission behavior was evaluated by fluorescence spectrophotometric analysis and the results demonstrated that the emission spectra of samples had a redshift compared to SrAl2O4：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋ and the emission intensity rose dramatically at first and then decreased when the ratio of light conversion agent doping was over 1.4 wt.%.And the emission color of SrAl2O4：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋/light conversion agent was tuned from green（SrAl2O4：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋）to orange-red.Furthermore,the afterglow property was also investigated,and the results indicated that the afterglow brightness reached 6.5 cd/m^2,and as the light conversion agent concentration increased the brightness intensity decreased.

Hydrometallurgy two stage process for preparation of (Nd,La,Ce)_(2)O_(3) from end-of-life NiMH batteries

The present work aims to investigate the recovery of light rare earth elements(LREEs) oxides from end-oflife NiMH batteries using a hydro metallurgical process followed by effective precipitation.The operational leaching parameters such as phosphoric acid concentration,temperature,and the solid-liquid ratio were first optimized by Box-Behnken design.The results reveal that under optimum conditions([H_(3)PO_(4)]=2 mol/L,T=80℃,and S/L=1:10 g/mL) the leaching efficiencies of Ni,Co reach 98.1% and99.3%.While La,Ce,and Nd elements remain in the leaching residue as(La,Ce,Nd)PO_(4) with yields of 98.2%,98.6%,and 99.6% for La,Ce,and Nd,respectively.Afterward,the(La,Ce,Nd)PO_(4) is leached with HCl acid,then the rare earth oxalate was precipitated using oxalic acid at a pH of 1.8 and then the product was calcined at 800℃ for 2 h in order to synthesize the(Nd,La,Ce)_(2)O_(3).The analysis using scanning electron microscopy(SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX) confirms the homogeneity of(Nd,La,Ce)_(2)O_(3) particles that have two morphologies,i.e.,flower and sticks with a particle size between 3and 6 μm.The unit cell parameters of(Nd,La,Ce)_(2)O_(3) were calculated after Rietveld refinement of the XRD patterns,in the space group of Fm-3m are a=b=c=0.57921 nm and the volume equal to 0.194322 nm^(3).

Estimating REY content of eastern Kentucky coal samples based on their associated ash elements

Coal and coal combustion byproducts can be considered as an alternative source of rare earth elements and yttrium （REY）. The study of relationships between REY and other main coal properties could have several advantages such as estimating REY content of coal particles and designing beneficial extraction method. In this investigation, inter-correlations between REY content with coal parameters （proximate and ash elements） for a wide range of eastern Kentucky coal samples （708 records） were explored. Results demonstrate that zircon and monazite are the main source of heavy and light rare earth elements （HREE and LREE）, respectively. Zr has the highest correlation with Y and Th has the strength relationship with Ce and La. In general, LREE have higher interaction with coal ash content in comparison with HREE. Results indicated that REY can be estimated quite satisfactorily by using their associated elements in coal ash.

Structure and magnetostriction of high Pr/Ce-content(Tb_(0.2)Pr_(0.8))_(1-x)Ce_(x)Fe_(1.93) Laves compounds

The light rare earth Pr/Ce-contained(Tb_(0.2)Pr_(0.8))_(1–x)Ce_(x)Fe_(1.93)(0≤x≤1.0)intermetallics were arc melted and magnetoelastic properties were investigated.The compounds of x≥0.40 are found to stabilize at ambient pressure in a single Laves phase with MgCu2-type C15 structure,which is attributed to the strong Ce 4f bonding.The mixed-valence behavior,with a support of the deviation from the linear Vegard’s law for both lattice parameter a and saturation magnetization M_(S),is observed at room temperature.The easy magnetization direction(EMD)was determined by the analysis of XRD on both magnetically aligned samples and the(440)splitting,that is,EMD lies toward<111>axis for x≤0.50 rotating to<110>for x=0.60,accompanied with the structural distortion from rhombohedral to orthorhombic.The substitution of Ce for Tb/Pr is conductive to the reduction of magnetocrystalline anisotropy,giving rise to an improvement of the low-field magnetostriction.The excellent magnetoelastic properties can be tailored by the Ce introduction,e.g.,the spontaneous magnetostriction coefficient λ_(111) as large as 1150×10^(−6) for x=0.40,and the low-field induced magnetostriction achieving a high value of λ_(a)=180×10^(−6) at 80 kA/m for x=0.60.The excellent magnetoelastic properties and the combination in high Pr-content with low cost,suggest promising prospects in applications.

Preparation and luminescence properties of a white emitting long afterglow luminous fiber based on FRET

A ternary luminous fiber with white light emitting was prepared. The fiber combined emission from Sr＋2ZnSi_2O_7：Eu^2＋,Dy3, SrAl_2O_4：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋ and Rhodamine B in the ternary system. According to fluorescence resonance energy transfer（FRET）, Rhodamine B was applied to generate red emission. A novel FRET system among Sr_2ZnS i_2O_7：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋, SrAl_2O_4：Eu^2＋,Dy^3＋ and Rhodamine B was introduced. The anticipated luminescence properties could be realized precisely by adjusting the ratio. The summaries of the main test results such as X-ray diffraction, CIE chromaticity diagram and fluorescence spectrophotometer were given, and an afterglow brightness tester was used as a microcomputer thermo-luminescent dosimeter. The brief outlines about some phenomena aspects and detailed physical descriptions as well as manuals were available. From the XRD analysis the result suggested that the lattice structure was not destroyed when milling and spinning. The sample of 6：4：0.1 with white light emitting showed good physical, mechanical and luminous performance.

Oxalate-assisted morphological effect of NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+on photoelectrochemical performance for dye-sensitized solar cells

In this study. we have employed a facile oxalate-assisted hydrothermal approach to tailor the morphology of β-NaYF_4：Er^（3＋）,Yb^（3＋）（NYFEY） powders through the variation of the molar ratio of oxalate ions（Oxa^（2-）） and rare earth ions（RE^（3＋）） in the range of 0.5：1.1：1.2：1, 5：1. and 10：1. The obtained results show that the crystallinity, particle size and upconversion luminescence intensity of the as-synthesized NYFEY particles are gradually decreased as the Oxa^（2-）：RE^（3＋） molar ratio increases from 0.5：1 to 10：1. For the purpose of photoelectrochemical performance evaluation,the as-synthesized NYFEY particles with different morphologies are incorporated into the nanocrystalline TiO2 films to form the multifunctional nano-and sub-micro meter composite photoanodes of dye-sensitized solar cells（DSSCs）. A short-circuit current density（Jsc） of 14.26 mA/cm^2 and power conversion efficiency（PCE） of 7.31% are obtained for DSSCs prepared with hexagonal rod-like NYFEY crystals,evidencing an increase of 29.8% compared with DSSCs prepared with only TiO_2 nanoparticles. The demonstrated synthesis approach for tailoring the morphology and size of NYFEY particles and enhancing the performance of DSSCs can also be applied for other types of solar cells.

Preparation of Ce-TiO_2/carbon aerogel electrode and its performance in degradation of 4-chlorophenol

Ce-TiO2/CA（carbon aerogel） electrode was prepared by sol impregnation approach. The XRD（X-ray diffraction） and Raman spectra reveal that the TiO2 is anatase. The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra show that the optical absorption edge for Ce-TiO_2/CA is red-shifted to 535 nm compared with TiO_2/CA. Under visible light irradiation, the photocurrent density increment on Ce-TiO_2/CA is 75 times that on Ce-TiO_2/FTO（fluorine-doped tin oxide）. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals that the conductivity of CeTiO_2/CA is much better than the Ce-TiO_2/FTO. Furthermore, the Ce-TiO_2/CA can be used to the highest electrosorptive photodegradation for 4-chlorophenol wastewater degradation, which is ascribed predominantly to the efficient reduction of electron-hole pair recombination in the photocatalysts.

A novel white emitting phosphor Ca_2PO_4Cl:Dy^(3+): luminescence, concentration quenching and thermal stability

A novel white emitting phosphor Ca2PO4Cl：Dy^3＋ was synthesized by a solid state method. The luminescence, concentration quenching and thermal stability of Ca2PO4Cl：Dy^3＋ were investigated. Ca2PO4Cl：Dy^3＋ showed three emission peaks, which were located at 483, 575 and 660 nm. Though the ratio of yellow to blue emission intensities showed a similar value, the intensities of yellow and blue peaks were influenced by Dy^3＋ concentration, and the concentration quenching effect was observed. The emission intensity of Ca2PO4Cl：Dy^3＋ as a function of temperature was explored and the emission intensity（at 150 °C） of Ca2PO4Cl：Dy^3＋ was 90.0% of the value at 25 °C, and activation energy was 0.18 eV. The results indicated that Ca2PO4Cl：Dy^3＋ might be conducive to development of white LEDs.