Neodymium Oxide

Neodymium oxide particles are tiny particles consisting of neodymium oxide, a rare earth metal oxide. These particles are physically solid and granular, and are commonly used in industry to exert their properties in magnetic materials, glass and ceramics.

Properties

Colour: Neodymium oxide particles are usually light blue particles, and the colour will change to dark blue after being exposed to moisture.

Density: Relative density is 7.24g/cm³, the higher density makes it have a certain sense of weight and stability in the application.

Solubility: very slightly soluble in water, solubility is 0.00019g/100ml water at 20℃, solubility is 0.003g/100ml water at 75℃, but easily soluble in inorganic acid.

Melting point: Neodymium oxide particles have a high melting point of about 1900℃ (some data show that it is 2270℃), which makes it can still maintain stable physical properties under high temperature environment, and can be used in high temperature related application scenarios.

Stability: Heating in air can partially generate high-valent oxides of neodymium with certain chemical reaction activity, but it is relatively stable at room temperature and pressure.

Hygroscopicity and carbon dioxide absorption: It is easy to absorb moisture and carbon dioxide in the air, so it needs to be protected from moisture and sealed during storage and use to prevent changes in its chemical properties.

Applications

Permanent magnetic material: Neodymium oxide is an important raw material for manufacturing strong magnetic NdFeB. NdFeB permanent magnetic material has extremely high magnetic energy product and coercivity, and is widely used in electric motors, electronics, aerospace and other fields, such as drive motors for electric vehicles, wind generators, and hard disc drives.

Alloy materials: Adding 1.5% – 2.5% NdO nanometer in magnesium alloy or aluminium alloy can improve the alloy’s high-temperature performance, airtightness and corrosion resistance, and it can be used in aerospace, automobile manufacturing and other fields with high requirements on material performance.

Laser materials: neodymium oxide is used to manufacture neodymium-doped laser crystals, such as neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium cranberry garnet (Nd:YAG), which is an important solid-state laser material, and can be used for laser cutting, welding, marking as well as laser medicine, etc. For example, in the medical field, nano neodymium oxide-doped nano yttrium aluminium oxide cranberry garnet lasers can be used to replace the scalpel for the removal of surgery or disinfection of traumatic orifices.

Glass colouring agent: it can provide unique colour for glass, such as the introduction of 1% – 5% of neodymium trioxide in glass or its crystals, it can provide exquisite, bright red tones with purple reflections, which can be used for the manufacture of stained glass, optical glass and so on.

Ceramics: It is a commonly used dopant in ceramics industry, applicable to high temperature enamel, which can improve the performance and appearance of ceramics and provide reddish-purple colour for ceramic products.

Electronic field: it can be used as dopant for making ceramic capacitors, improving the performance of capacitors.

Other fields: used as additives in rubber industry, can improve the performance of rubber, such as enhancing the abrasion resistance of rubber, aging resistance, etc.; in the field of catalysis also has certain applications, nano-neodymium oxide has good catalytic activity, can be used in the synthesis of carboxylate esters, fatty alcohols, such as amination reaction.