Biomedical rare-earth magnesium alloy:Current status and future prospects

Biomedical magnesium(Mg)alloys have garnered significant attention because of their unique biodegradability,favorable biocompatibility,and suitable mechanical properties.The incorporation of rare earth(RE)elements,with their distinct physical and chemical properties,has greatly contributed to enhancing the mechanical performance,degradation behavior,and biological performance of biomedical Mg alloys.Currently,a series of RE-Mg alloys are being designed and investigated for orthopedic implants and cardiovascular stents,achieving substantial and encouraging research progress.In this work,a comprehensive summary of the state-of-the-art in biomedical RE-Mg alloys is provided.The physiological effects and design standards of RE elements in biomedical Mg alloys are discussed.Particularly,the degradation behavior and mechanical properties,including their underlying action are studied in-depth.Furthermore,the preparation techniques and current application status of RE-Mg alloys are reviewed.Finally,we address the ongoing challenges and propose future prospects to guide the development of high-performance biomedical Mg-RE alloys.

Improvement strategy on thermophysical properties of A_(2)B_(2)O_(7)-type rare earth zirconates for thermal barrier coatings applications:A review

The A_(2)B_(2)O_(7)-type rare earth zirconate compounds have been considered as promising candidates for thermal barrier coating(TBC) materials because of their low sintering rate,improved phase stability,and reduced thermal conductivity in contrast with the currently used yttria-partially stabilized zirconia (YSZ) in high operating temperature environments.This review summarizes the recent progress on rare earth zirconates for TBCs that insulate high-temperature gas from hot-section components in gas turbines.Based on the first principles,molecular dynamics,and new data-driven calculation approaches,doping and high-entropy strategies have now been adopted in advanced TBC materials design.In this paper,the solid-state heat transfer mechanism of TBCs is explained from two aspects,including heat conduction over the full operating temperature range and thermal radiation at medium and high temperature.This paper also provides new insights into design considerations of adaptive TBC materials,and the challenges and potential breakthroughs are further highlighted for extreme environmental applications.Strategies for improving thermophysical performance are proposed in two approaches:defect engineering and material compositing.

Yttrium‐and nitrogen‐doped NiCo phosphide nanosheets for high‐efficiency water electrolysis

Engineering high‐performance and low‐cost bifunctional catalysts for H_(2)(hydrogen evolution reaction[HER])and O_(2)(oxygen evolution reaction[OER])evolution under industrial electrocatalytic conditions remains challenging.Here,for the first time,we use the stronger electronegativity of a rare‐Earth yttrium ion(Y^(3+))to induce in situ NiCo‐layered double‐hydroxide nanosheets from NiCo foam(NCF)treated by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma NCF(PNCF),and then obtain nitrogen‐doped YNiCo phosphide(N‐YNiCoP/PNCF)after the phosphating process using radiofrequency plasma in nitrogen.The obtained NYNiCoP/PNCF has a large specific surface area,rich heterointerfaces,and an optimized electronic structure,inducing high electrocatalytic activity in HER(331mV vs.2000mA cm^(−2))and OER(464mV vs.2000mA cm^(−2))reactions in 1MKOH electrolyte.X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory quantum chemistry calculations reveal that the coordination number of CoNi decreased with the incorporation of Y atoms,which induce much shorter bonds of Ni and Co ions and promote long‐term stability of N‐YNiCoP in HER and OER under the simulated industrial conditions.Meanwhile,the CoN‐YP_(5)heterointerface formed by plasma N‐doping is the active center for overall water splitting.This work expands the applications of rare‐Earth elements in engineering bifunctional electrocatalysts and provides a new avenue for designing highperformance transition‐metal‐based catalysts in the renewable energy field.

Effect and Mechanism of Rare Earth Hydrotalcite Inhibiting Coal Spontaneous Combustion

A hydrotalcite(layered double hydroxide, LDH) inhibitor which is suitable for the whole process of coal spontaneous combustion and a LDH inhibitor containing rare earth lanthanum elements were prepared. The inhibition effect and mechanism were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD), thermal performance analysis, in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy and temperature-programmed experiment. The results have shown that the inhibitor containing lanthanum can play a good inhibitory role in every stage of coal oxidation. During the slow oxidation of coal samples, the inhibitor containing lanthanum ions can slow down the oxidation process of coal and increase the initial temperature of coal spontaneous combustion. At the same time, because the hydroxyl groups in LDHs are connected with-COO-groups on the coal surface through hydrogen bonds, the stability of coal is improved. With the increase of temperature, LDHs can remove interlayer water molecules and reduce the surface temperature of coal. CO release rate of coal samples decreases significantly after adding inhibitor containing lanthanum element, and the maximum inhibition rate of the inhibitor is 58.1%.

Association between Exposure of Rare Earth Elements and Outcomes of In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer in Beijing

Objective The study aimed to investigate the impact of rare earth elements(REEs)exposure on pregnancy outcomes of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer(IVF-ET)by analyzing samples from spouses.Methods A total of 141 couples were included.Blood and follicular fluid from the wives and semen plasma from the husbands,were analyzed for REEs using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS).Spearman's correlation coefficients and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to assess correlations and compare REE concentrations among three types of samples,respectively.Logistic models were utilized to estimate the individual REE effect on IVF-ET outcomes,while BKMR and WQS models explored the mixture of REE interaction effects on IVF-ET outcomes.Results Higher La concentration in semen(median 0.089 ng/mL,P=0.03)was associated with a lower fertilization rate.However,this effect was not observed after artificial selection intervention through intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI)(P=0.27).In semen,the REEs mixture did not exhibit any significant association with clinical pregnancy.Conclusion Our study revealed a potential association between high La exposure in semen and a decline in fertilization rate,but not clinical pregnancy rate.This is the first to report REEs concentrations in follicular fluid with La,Ce,Pr,and Nd found at significantly lower concentrations than in serum,suggesting that these four REEs may not accumulate in the female reproductive system.However,at the current exposure levels,mixed REEs exposure did not exhibit reproductive toxicity.

Wetting front migration model of ion-adsorption rare earth during the multi-hole unsaturated liquid injection

In the process of ion-adsorption rare earth ore leaching,the migration characteristics of the wetting front in multi-hole injection holes and the influence of wetting front intersection effect on the migration distance of wetting fronts are still unclear.Besides,wetting front migration distance and leaching time are usually required to optimize the leaching process.In this study,wetting front migration tests of ionadsorption rare earth ores during the multi-hole fluid injection(the spacing between injection holes was 10 cm,12 cm and 14 cm)and single-hole fluid injection were completed under the constant water head height.At the pre-intersection stage,the wetting front migration laws of ion-adsorption rare earth ores during the multi-hole fluid injection and single-hole fluid injection were identical.At the postintersection stage,the intersection accelerated the wetting front migration.By using the Darcy’s law,the intersection effect of wetting fronts during the multi-hole liquid injection was transformed into the water head height directly above the intersection.Finally,based on the Green-Ampt model,a wetting front migration model of ion-adsorption rare earth ores during the multi-hole unsaturated liquid injection was established.Error analysis results showed that the proposed model can accurately simulate the infiltration process under experimental conditions.The research results enrich the infiltration law and theory of ion-adsorption rare earth ores during the multi-hole liquid injection,and this study provides a scientific basis for optimizing the liquid injection well pattern parameters of ion-adsorption rare earth in situ leaching in the future.

Differential Expression Analysis of Proteins Regulated by Rare Earth Cerium in Soybean Leaves at Seedling Stage

This study was to explore the functional mechanism of rare earth regulating soybean leaves and the characteristics and functions of differentially expressed proteins under the regulation of rare earth. In this study, Dongnong 42 was used as material, and 30 mg·L^(-1) CeCl_(3) solution was sprayed on soybean leaves at the seedling stage. Tandem mass tag(TMT) quantitative proteomics technique and bioinformatics analysis were used to identify soybean leaf proteins. A total of 8 510 proteins were identified, and 127 differentially expressed proteins(DEPs) in response to rare earth cerium regulation were identified, among which 64 were upregulated and 63 were down-regulated. The gene ontology(GO) annotation indicated that DEPs were mainly involved in metabolic process, cellular process, response to stimulus, biological regulation, and response to a stimulus;DEPs in cell module categories were mainly involved in cells, cell part, organelle, membrane, membrane part, organelle par, and protein-containing complex;DEPs in molecular functional categories were mainly involved in catalytic activity, binding and antioxidant activity. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG) pathway significantly enriched starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, galactose metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway-plant. These DEPs were mainly involved in photosynthesis, glucose metabolism and stress response. Forty-six differential protein interaction networks were identified by protein interaction network analysis. This experiment provided a reference for studies of the mechanism of rare earth cerium regulating soybean leaf function from the proteomic perspective.

Disorganizing rare earth ions may improve quantum infor mation storage

A new paper in Nature Physics shows that by cramming lots of rare earth ions into a crystal,some will form pairs that act as highly coherent qubits,thus debunking the idea that solid-state qubits need to be super dilute in an ultra-clean material to achieve long lifetimes.According to the study's authors,one of the major barriers to practical quantum computing has been how to make qubits that retain their quantum information long enough to be useful.

Mechanical behaviors of alumina ceramics doped with rare-earth oxides

The effects of three types of additives Y2O3, La2O3, and Sm2O3 on the sintering and mechanical behaviors of alumina ceramics were investigated. The bending strengths of alumina ceramics with Sm2O3 and Y2O3 additions were 455 and 439 MPa, respectively, higher than that with La2O3 addition. The fi＇acture toughness of the ceramics with Sm2O3 and Y2O3 were also higher than that with La2O3 addition. The fracture mode of rare earth oxides doped alumina ceramics exhibited obvious transgranular fractures as well as intergranular fracture. The results of research show that the improvement of bending strength and fracture toughness of alumina ceramics with rare earth oxides was achieved by refining the grain size and strengthening the grain boundary.

Rare Earth Elements-Doped LiCoO_2 Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Some compounds of LiCo 1- x RE x O 2 (RE=rare earth elements and x =0.01～0.03) were prepared by doping rare earth elements to LiCoO 2 via solid state synthesis. The microstructure characteristics of the LiCo 1- x RE x O 2 were investigated by XRD. It was found that the lattice parameters c are increased and the lattice volumes are enlarged compared to that of LiCoO 2. Moreover, the performance of LiCo 1- x RE x O 2 as the cathode material in lithium ion battery is improved, especially LiCo 1- x Y x O 2 and LiCo 1- x La x O 2. The initial charge/discharge capacities of LiCo 0.99 Y 0.01 O 2 and LiCo 0.99 La 0.01 O 2 are 174/154 (mAh·g -1 ) and 159/149 (mAh·g -1 ) respectively, while those for LiCoO 2 working in the same way are only 139/131 (mAh·g -1 ).

Band gap calculation and photo catalytic activity of rare earths doped rutile TiO_2

The density of states （DOS） of 17 kinds of rare earths （RE） doped rutile TiO2 was by using first-principles density functional theory （DFT） calculation. The band gap widths of RE doped futile TiO2 were important factors for altering their absorbing wavelengths. The results show that RE ions could obviously reduce the band gap widths and form of energy of ruffle TiO2 except Lu, Y, Yb and Sc, and the order of absorbing wavelengths of RE doped ruffle TiO2 were the same as that of the results of calculation. The ratio of RE dopant was another important factor for the photo catalytic ＇activity of RE doped rutile TiO2, and there was an optimal ratio of dopant. There was a constant for predigesting the calculation difficulty, respectively, which were 0.5mol.% and 100 mol^-1 under supposition. The band gap widths of RE doped rutile TiOz by DFT calculation were much larger than that by experiment. Finally, by transferring the calculation values to experiment values, it could be found and predicted that RE enlarged obviously the absorbing wavelengh of ruffle TiO2. In addition, the degree of RE ions edging out the Ti atom using the parameters of RE dements was computed.

Synthesis and Photocatalytic Activity of TiO_2/V_2O_5 Composite Catalyst Doped with Rare Earth Ions

TiO2/V2O5 catalyst doped with rare earth ions was prepared by sol-gel method. Titanium tetrapropoxide and vanadium pentoxide were used as precursor of the composite catalyst and rare earth ions were used as dopant. The crystal phases, crystalline sizes, microstructure, absorption spectra of doped composite catalyst were studied by XRD, EDS, FT-IR and UV-Vis. Photoactivity of the prepared catalyst under ultraviolet irradiation were evaluated by degradation of methyl orange （MO） in aqueous solution. It is shown that the prepared catalyst is composed of anatase and futile. The rare earth ions are highly dispersed in composite catalyst. All the doped catalysts appear higher photocatalytic activity than TiO2/V2O5 catalyst and catalyst doped with Ce^4＋ present the best activity to MO.

Study on rare earth/alkaline earth oxide-doped CeO_2 solid electrolyte

Five types of rare earth/alkaline earth oxide-doped CeO2 superfine-powders were synthesized by a low-temperature combustion technique. The relevant solid electrolyte materials were also sintered by pressureless sintering at different temperatures. The results of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that the grain size of the powders was approximately 20-30 nm, and rare earth/alkaline earth oxides were completely dissolved into ceria-based solid solution with fluorite structure. The electrical conductivities of the SmzO3-CeO2 system were measured by the ac impedance technique in air at temperatures ranging from 513-900℃. The results indicated that the ionic conductivities of Srno.2oCe0.8Ol.875 solid electrolyte increase with increasing sintering temperature, and the relationship between the conductivities and measuring temperature obeys the An＇henius equation. Then the SmzO3-CeO2 material was further doped with other rare earth/alkaline earth oxide, and the conductivities improve with the effective index.

Rare earth doped CaCu_3Ti_4O_(12) electronic ceramics for high frequency applications

Ca1-xRxCu3Ti4O12(R=La,Y,Gd;x=0,0.1,0.2,0.3) electronic ceramics were fabricated by conventional solid-state reaction method.The microstructure and dielectric properties as well as impedance behavior were carefully investigated.XRD results showed that the secondary phases with the general formula R2Ti2O7 existed at grain boundaries of rare earth doped ceramics,which inhibited abnormal grain growth.The dielectric constant decreased from 4×105 in pure CaCu3Ti4O12(CCTO) ceramics to 2×103 with rare earth doping....

Rare Earth Doped New Cemented Carbide with Ni-Co Binder for Mining

A method, doping WC with La(NO 3) 3, of producing cemented carbide with rare earth was introduced. The effects of lanthanum on the mechanical properties and microstructure of WC 9(Co 75%Ni) cemented carbide were studied and a rock drilling experiment was carried out.The experimental results show that both transverse rupture strength (TRS) and hardness of WC 9(Co 75%Ni) rare earth cemented carbides can match that of WC 9Co cemented carbide, when La 2O 3 / (Co+Ni) ratio is 0.3%, the abnormal growth of WC grain in the cemented carbide can be restrained effectively, the homogeneity of grain size in microstructure and the wear resistance are improved, which can be matchable to that of WC 9Co cemented carbide for mining.

Surface ζ potential and photocatalytic activity of rare earths doped TiO_2

The iso-electric point of different rare earths （La, Ce, Y） doped anatase TiO2 was set out, and three organisms with different sur- face electrical properties （methylene blue trihydrate-positive electricity, methyl orange-negative electricity, methyl red-neutral electricity） were selected as photodegradable models. The result showed that the photocatalytic activity of 0.5wt.%Y ions doped anatase TiO2 was better than those of the others. The relationship between Zeta （ξ） potential and the photocatalytic activity of different RE doped anatase TiO2 were also investigated. The Y-doped anatase TiO2 was found with the special two iso-electric points and three ξ potential values.

Visible-Light Excitated Photocatalytic Activity of Rare Earth Metal-Ion-Doped Titania

The rare earth ion Ce 4+ doped TiO 2 was prepared by sol-gel method. The average particle sizes are about 10 nm for sol phase and 55 nm for polycrystalline phase. The photocatalytic activities to degrade Reactive Brilliant Red Dye X-3B were investigated. The result reveals that the spectrum response of Ce 4+-TiO 2 has extended to visible region from the UV region(λ<387 nm) of pure TiO 2. Amorphous phase Ce 4+-TiO 2 sol with an electron scavenger (1.0% atom fraction Ce 4+ ion doping amount) shows the capability of the photocatalytic degradation of the dye X-3B as well as the nanocrystallite Ce 4+-TiO 2 with an interband trap site. Despite of the difference in the morphology of Ce 4+-TiO 2 photocatalyst, there is no apparent difference in respect of the decoloring effects. Whereas, polycrystalline phase Ce 4+-TiO 2 exhibits strong photomineralization power in comparison with the amorphous phase. The photocatalytic oxidation mechanisms of the dye molecule mainly involved in the self-photo-sensitization photolysis process by the first excited singlet oxygen ( 1O 2) and photocatalysis process by hydroxyl radicals(·OH) under visible light irradiation.

NMR Study on Structural Characteristics of Rare Earth Doped Boro-Alumino-Silicate Glasses

The structural characteristics of Re2O3 doped B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 glasses and factors such as the component and heat-treating conditions affecting the glass structure were investigated by magic angle spin nuclear magnetic resonance （MAS NMR） spectroscopy and differential thermal analysis （DTA）. It is found that, in B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 glass, the boron （4）, and Al（5）, Al（6） changes to Al（4）. On the other hand, compared with Ba^2＋ , RE^3＋ can accumulate the boron network because of its higher field strength, which results in a large network structure. With the increase of samarium oxide, the silicate coordination Qa（3T） will have predominance gradually. Heat-treatment has little effect on the boron and aluminum coordination sites in the glass structure.

Investigations on structure and proton diffusion coefficient of rare earth ion (Y^(3+)/Nd^(3+)) and aluminum codoped α-Ni(OH)_2

Rare earth ion （Nd^3＋/Y^3＋） and Al^3＋ codoped α-Ni（OH）2 powers were synthesized by chemical coprecipitation method. The structttre was analyzed with X-ray diffraction （XRD） and thermal gravity （TG）. Cyclic voltammetry （CV） tests were performed to evaluate the proton diffusion coefficients of the samples. The results indicated that codoping of Y-Al and Nd-Al resulted in more water molecules contained within the crystal lattice and accordingly increased the interlayer spacing. In particular, the Y-Al codoped α-Ni（OH）2 showed a turbostratic structure. The calculated diffusion coefficients of the Y-Al codoped α-Ni（OH）2 and Nd-Al codoped α-Ni（OH）2 were 3.5×10^-10cm^2/s and 2.8× 10^-10 cm^2/s, respectively.

Mechanism of Phase Transformation and Formation of Barium Hexafer rite Doped with Rare-Earths in Sol-Gel Process

The phase-transformation in sol-gel preparation of barium hexaferrite and the formation of barium hexaferrite doped with La 3+ were studied by chemical p hase analysis, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectrometry analysis. The expe rimental results show that phase transformation reactions of FeCO 3, Fe 2O 3 and BaFe 2O 4, barium hexaferrite and γ-Fe 2O 3 take place in the heat tr eatment of gel. While the doping lanthanide ion replace barium ion, an equivalen t quantity of Fe 3+ are reduced to Fe 2+ to maintain the charge equili brium.