High-purity Oxide Research Articles

The Structural Profiling Method for Diagnosis of High Performance for LiFePO4 Cathode Materials Synthesized By Environmentally-Friendly Method with Low Cost Resources

Over the past decade, commercialization technologies for olivine-structured LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode materials have been developed primarily in China, with solid-state synthesis methods based on iron phosphate dominating the market. However, there are numerous need prompting more environmentally-friendly process overcoming the production of iron phosphate precursor through co-precipitation processes leading to significant waste generation and environmental pollution issues. In this regard, a solid-state reaction process using iron oxide and lithium phosphate was developed to address this concern. High-purity iron oxide derived from the waste solution generated during the pickling process at steel plants and lithium phosphate produced by POSCO's process in Argentina were utilized in the synthesis of high-performance lithium iron phosphate. LFP cathode material was synthesized through a solid-state reaction and spray drying process, involving two rounds of annealing, resulting in an initial discharge capacity of over 160mAh/g at 0.1C and over 140mAh/g at 1C, along with excellent cycle life performance. In addition, it is also matter how the intermediate product after 1st annealing makes an effect on the performance of final product. Therefore, this research aims to introduce the method of manufacturing lithium iron phosphate and development results from a commercialization perspective, as well as structural profiling method about the product after 1st annealing process in relation with performances of final product after 2nd annealing process using synchrotron-based X-ray tool.

Novel HPMC/PEDOT:PSS nanocomposite for optoelectronic and energy storage applications.

This study investigates a class of materials known as polymer nanodielectrics, which are formed by incorporating ceramic fillers into polymers. These materials offer the unique advantage of tunable electrical and optical properties. The research focuses on the incorporation of high-purity stannic oxide nanoparticles (SnO2 NPs) into a ternary blend matrix of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) using a solution casting method. Characterization techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) revealed alterations in the amorphous nature of the HPMC/PEDOT:PSS blend upon the introduction of SnO2 NPs. These analyses also suggest the formation of interactions between the polymer and nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images confirmed the successful dispersion of SnO2 NPs on the surface of the polymer blend, particularly at lower concentrations. The optical properties of the nanocomposite films were investigated using UV-vis spectrophotometry. This analysis allowed for the calculation of optical constants like the bandgap and refractive index. The results showed a dual-bandgap structure, with the direct and indirect bandgaps ranging from 4.92 eV to 4.26 eV and 3.52 eV to 1.68 eV, respectively. Electrical characterization using AC conductivity and dielectric permittivity measurements revealed a dependence on the SnO2 NPs concentration within the frequency range of 0.1 Hz to 10 MHz. The relaxation processes and interfacial polarization effects within these nanocomposites are further discussed in the study. At a frequency of 10 Hz, the AC conductivity exhibited a significant increase, rising from 1.85 × 10-12 S m-1 to 1.04 × 10-9 S m-1 upon the addition of 0.7 wt% SnO2 NPs. These findings highlight the multifunctional nature of the developed nanocomposites. They hold promise for various applications, including UV blockers, optical bandgap tuners, and optical coatings in advanced optoelectronic devices. Additionally, their tunable high permittivity suggests potential use as dielectric substrates for next-generation, high-performance energy storage devices.

Preparation of high-purity iron oxide from end-of-life NdFeB magnet waste

The acid-soluble residue from end-of-life NdFeB magnet waste is often introduced into the ferrous metallurgical process to recover iron oxide as a value added product, but this approach has a low economic value. In this work, a ferrous chloride solution from NdFeB magnet waste containing rare earth elements, which was obtained after the leaching and impurity removal process from the acid-soluble residue, was used as the raw material. The crystallization mechanism and reaction kinetics in the oxidation precipitation process were studied to prepare high-purity iron oxide. The results showed that the growth of γ-FeOOH flakes with smooth surfaces and uniform morphologies could be explained by Ostwald's ripening theory. The apparent activation energy of the oxidative precipitation reaction of ferrous iron was 56.8 kJ/mol, indicating a chemically controlled reactions. Under the optimal oxidative precipitation conditions, the precipitation efficiency of ferrous ions and rare earth elements was 98.8 % and < 1 %, respectively. The precipitated product was well-crystallized γ-FeOOH with an aggregated flake morphology. It was roasted at 700 °C for 2 h to obtain an iron oxide product with a purity of 99.6 %. This study could provide technical support for the valuable utilization of acid-soluble residues from NdFeB magnet waste and to propose new methods for the utilization of other iron wastes and residues.

Synthesis, characterization, and physico-chemical aspects of a new PVC-based quaternary triethanol ammonium chloride anionite for tungsten recovery.

The usability of polyvinyl chloride-based quaternary triethanol ammonium chloride anionite (PVC-TEAC) as a potential extractant for tungstate was investigated to recover tungstate from Gabal Qash Amir, Egypt, assaying 70.91% WO3. Structure elucidation for PVC-TEAC anionite was successfully carried out using several techniques. Experimental measurements, such as pH, agitation time, initial tungsten concentration, anionite dose, co-ions, temperature, and eluting agents, have been optimized. It was found that PVC-TEAC anionite has a maximum capacity of 63 mg per gram. From the distribution isotherm modeling, Langmuir's model fits the experimental results better than Freundlich's, with a theoretical value of 61.728 mg g-1. According to kinetic modeling, the first- and second-order modeling may be regarded as a mixed modeling for a successful adsorption system. Thermodynamic prospects reveal that the adsorption process was predicted as an exothermic, spontaneous, and preferable adsorption at low temperatures. Tungsten ions can be eluted from the loaded anionite, by 1M H2SO4 with a 97% efficiency rate. It was found that PVC-TEAC anionite reveals good separation factor (S.F.) towards most of co-ions. A successful Alkali fusion with NaOH flux followed by tungstate recovery by PVC-TEAC anionite is used to obtain a high-purity tungsten oxide concentrate (WO3), with a tungsten content of 78.3% and a purity of 98.75%.

Superconductivity investigation of (Bi, Pb)-2223 added with different nanoferrites and their composites

In this study, the impact of different types of nanoferrites additions of Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 and Ba0.4Sr0.4Ca0.2Fe12O19 nanoparticles and their nanocomposite of (Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4)0.5 (Ba0.4Sr0.4Ca0.2Fe12O19)0.5 on the structural and normal state resistivity of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10, ((Bi,Pb)-2223) superconducting phase were systematically investigated. The samples were synthesised using high purity oxide powders via a solid-state reaction approach. Based on the Rietveld analysis of x-ray diffraction (XRD) data, the tetragonal structure of (Bi,Pb)-2223 was established to be the predominant phase for all composite samples of the three nano-additions’ contents. However, a little change to the lattice parameters ( a and c ) was obtained. Furthermore, the small amounts (0.04 wt%) of Ba0.4Sr0.4Ca0.2Fe12O19 and (Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4)0.5(Ba0.4Sr0.4Ca0.2Fe12O19)0.5 improved the development of the (Bi,Pb)-2223 phase. The volume fraction of the (Bi,Pb)-2223 phase increased from 86.47% to 88.73% and 88.69%, respectively. Then, it declined to 74.25% and 71.48% upon rising x to 0.40 wt%, respectively, as well as for Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles up to 0.40 wt%. SEM images verify the host superconducting matrix’s granular structure for all three nanoadditions up to 0.40 wt%. The existence of three nano additions in the host superconductor matrix is verified by employing energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The measurements for the resistivity dependency of temperature presented that, as compared to the pure sample (Tc = 108.67 K), the nano-(Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4) x added in the (Bi,Pb)-2223 phase exhibits more negative impact than it is with the other two additions. In contrast, the nano-(Ba0.4Sr0.4Ca0.2Fe12O19) x has the highest value of Tc with a value of 110.95 K at x = 0.04 wt%. Furthermore, the superconducting transition width (∆Tc) improved for all composite samples except for the sample at x = 0.04 wt%, for Ba0.4Sr0.4Ca0.2Fe12O19 and (Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4)0.5 (Ba0.4Sr0.4 Ca0.2Fe12O19)0.5 which showed the sharpest transition width. This suggests that their addition is anticipated to act as artificial pinning centers and strengthen the coupling between the grains in the (Bi,Pb)-2223 ceramic.

Eco-Friendly Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nano/Microparticles Using Aqueous Leaf Extract of Polygonum cognatum Meisn. Plant

The environmentally friendly plant-based green synthesis approach provides a fabulous opportunity to produce versatile zinc oxide powders with multifarious morphology and/or size. In this study, it was mainly aimed at using Polygonum cognatum Meisn. extract to synthesize zinc oxide powder via a simple green synthesis route. For this purpose, zinc nitrate solution was mixed with an aqueous extract of fresh Polygonum cognatum Meisn. plant leaves to obtain a zinc-based precursor, and then zinc oxide powder was synthesized by means of calcination conducted at 400°C for 2 hours in air. Phase, spectroscopic, and microstructural analysis techniques, as well as Rietveld refinement method and Williamson-Hall analysis, were performed to investigate the powder characteristics. It was found that the synthesized high-purity zinc oxide powder had a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. Zinc oxide powder was observed to have a particularly large amount of nano-sized equiaxed particles (~25 nm in average diameter) together with micron-sized hourglass-like particles consisting of two hexagonal prisms (each

Experimental Study on the Preparation of High-Purity Iron Oxide Red by Acid Leaching Iron from Coal Gangue.

Aiming at the problems of the large storage, complex composition, low comprehensive utilization rate, and high environmental impact of coal gangue, this paper carried out experimental research on the preparation of iron oxide red from high-iron gangue by calcination activation, acid leaching, extraction, and the hydrothermal synthesis of coal gangue. The experimental results show that when the calcination temperature of coal gangue is 500 °C, the calcination time is 1.5 h, the optimal concentration of iron removal is 6 mol/L, the acid leaching temperature is 80 °C, the acid leaching time is 1 h, and the liquid--solid mass ratio is 4:1; the iron dissolution rate can reach 87.64%. A solvent extraction method (TBP-SK-hydrochloric acid system) was used to extract the leachate, and a solution with iron content up to 99.21% was obtained. By controlling the optimum hydrothermal conditions (pH = 9, temperature 170 °C, reaction time 5 h), high-purity iron oxide red product can be prepared; the yield is 80.07%. The red iron oxide was characterized by XRD, SEM-EDS, particle-size analysis, and ICP-OES. The results show that the red iron oxide peak has a cubic microstructure, an average particle size of 167.16 μm, and a purity of 99.16%. The quality of the prepared iron oxide red product meets the requirement of 98.5% of the "YHT4 Iron oxide Standard for ferrite". It can be used as a raw material to produce high-performance soft magnetic ferrite. In summary, this experimental study on the preparation of iron oxide red from coal gangue is of great significance for the comprehensive utilization of coal gangue to realize the sustainable development of the environment and economy.

Introducing the antibacterial and photocatalytic degradation potentials of biosynthesized chitosan, chitosan–ZnO, and chitosan–ZnO/PVP nanoparticles

The development of nanomaterials has been speedily established in recent years, yet nanoparticles synthesized by traditional methods suffer unacceptable toxicity and the sustainability of the procedure for synthesizing such nanoparticles is inadequate. Consequently, green biosynthesis, which employs biopolymers, is gaining attraction as an environmentally sound alternative to less sustainable approaches. Chitosan-encapsulated nanoparticles exhibit exceptional antibacterial properties, offering a wide range of uses. Chitosan, obtained from shrimp shells, aided in the environmentally friendly synthesis of high-purity zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) with desirable features such as the extraction yield (41%), the deacetylation (88%), and the crystallinity index (74.54%). The particle size of ZnO NPs was 12 nm, while that of chitosan–ZnO NPs was 21 nm, and the bandgap energies of these nanomaterials were 3.98 and 3.48, respectively. The strong antibacterial action was demonstrated by ZnO NPs, chitosan–ZnO NPs, and chitosan–ZnO/PVP, particularly against Gram-positive bacteria, making them appropriate for therapeutic use. The photocatalytic degradation abilities were also assessed for all nanoparticles. At a concentration of 6 × 10–5 M, chitosan removed 90.5% of the methylene blue (MB) dye, ZnO NPs removed 97.4%, chitosan-coated ZnO NPs removed 99.6%, while chitosan–ZnO/PVP removed 100%. In the case of toluidine blue (TB), at a concentration of 4 × 10–3 M, the respective efficiencies were 96.8%, 96.8%, 99.5%, and 100%, respectively. Evaluation of radical scavenger activity revealed increased scavenging of ABTS and DPPH radicals by chitosan–ZnO/PVP compared to individual zinc oxide or chitosan–ZnO, where the IC50 results were 0.059, 0.092, 0.079 mg/mL, respectively, in the ABTS test, and 0.095, 0.083, 0.061, and 0.064 mg/mL in the DPPH test, respectively. Moreover, in silico toxicity studies were conducted to predict the organ-specific toxicity through ProTox II software. The obtained results suggest the probable safety and the absence of organ-specific toxicity with all the tested samples.

Molten salt mediated low-temperature direct roasting of spent lead paste

Traditional pyrometallurgy for recovery of spent lead paste suffered from high energy consumption, massive reducing agent and toxic SOx gas emission. Here, a sustainable molten nitrate salt mediated approach was proposed to realize low-temperature (500 °C) direct roasting of waste lead paste. Efficient desulfurization could not be realized via single direct smelting of the mixture containing spent lead paste, Na2CO3 and NaNO3. The introduction of Na2CO3 desulfurizer could promote the chemical conversion with PbSO4, while the process still required relatively high temperature above 900 °C to realize relatively high desulfurization efficiency. After the introduction of NaNO3 molten salt into spent lead paste-Na2CO3 system, the original solid-solid reaction in spent lead paste-Na2CO3 system was changed to solid-liquid-solid contract, providing more reaction probability between Na2CO3 and PbSO4 phase in spent lead paste. As a result, high-purity lead oxide powders were obtained with 98.7% desulfurization and 99.2% lead recovery ratio. A profit of $378.2 per ton spent lead paste could be achieved from the economically evaluations. The proposed novel pyrometallurgy approach eliminated the emission of harmful SOx from the decomposition of PbSO4 phase and releases of lead containing wastewater, offering a robust lead oxide recovery substitute from secondary lead resources while possessing significant environmental and economic benefits.

Security evaluation of China's indium industrial chain: Perspective on substance flow throughout the whole life cycle

As the world's largest supplier of primary indium, China's indium industrial chain structure and demand change affect global supply. It is necessary to evaluate the security of China's indium industrial chain and determine the reasons that affect security. The past substance flow analysis (SFA) of indium and mineral industrial chain security evaluation has problems such as a lack of timeliness, a single dimension mainly focusing on the upstream, and simple evaluation methods. In this paper, based on the SFA, an integrated evaluation system for the whole life cycle is constructed from 2000 to 2022 according to mineral industrial chain security characteristics. The results show that since introducing liquid crystal in 2003, China's indium industrial chain security level has been low despite a slight increase. Although China has gradually broken through the production technology of high-purity indium and indium tin oxide (ITO) targets, the large consumption and export of refined indium has reduced China's indium metal stock to 2214 t, while the resource reserves advantage is also diminishing. Mass consumption has also led China to import more ores, while China still imports high-end products from other countries with high import source concentrations. The pollutants emitted by the large production and the declining environmental governance level pose a significant environmental threat. Finally, suggestions for strengthening international cooperation, increasing technological research, establishing a reserve system, risk monitoring mechanisms, and strict emission standards can improve China's indium industrial chain security.

Selective Recovery of Cerium as High-Purity Oxides via Reactive Separation Using CO2-Responsive Structured Ligands

Selective Recovery of Cerium as High-Purity Oxides via Reactive Separation Using CO₂-Responsive Structured Ligands

Melt-grown behaviour of heat treated high-purity alumina ceramics prepared by laser directed energy deposition

Laser additive manufacturing technologies have attracted attention for the rapid preparation of melt-grown oxide ceramics, which are promising for high-temperature applications. However, the limitation of the mechanical properties and lack of understanding of high-temperature stability limit the applications of this type of material. In this study, the effect of heat treatment on melt-grown high-purity alumina ceramics prepared by laser-directed energy deposition (LDED) was investigated. The results show that melt-grown alumina ceramics have excellent high-temperature stability, as evidenced by the negligible changes in weight, geometric size, roughness, and phase composition after heat treatment. Compared with the same deposited material without heat treatment, the flexural strength of the heat-treated material is significantly increased, and the maximum strength can reach 547.85 ± 78.81 MPa, an increase of 102.96%. This increase in strength is attributed to crack healing during the heat treatment process. The heat treatment had less influence on the microhardness and fracture toughness. The results presented here can provide technical guidance for the fabrication of high-performance melt-grown high-purity oxide ceramics using LDED technology.

Preparation of high-purity gallium oxide via gallium hydrolysis

Gallium oxide (Ga2O3), a promising semiconductor material, has attracted significant attention in recent years. This study focuses on a method for rapidly obtaining high-purity Ga2O3 through the one-step hydrolysis of gallium in an alkaline environment to address the challenges of complex experimental equipment and the high-pressure condition of the traditional method. Uniformly dispersed rod-like GaOOH with a length of 2 µm is prepared using a 5 mM polyvinylpyrrolidone solution. Additionally, Ga2O3 (500 °C α-Ga2O3 and 800 °C β-Ga2O3) with different crystal forms is prepared by calcinating GaOOH at different temperatures. Compared with conventional methods, this approach offers a fast, safe, and cheap process for preparing high-purity Ga2O3.

Electrochemically-mediated reactive separation of nitric oxide into nitrate using iron chelate

Valorization of nitric oxide is a promising solution for addressing the environmental and resource issues related to the nitrogen cycle. However, low concentrations of nitric oxide combined with impurities in exhaust streams limit its potential, and it requires extensive energy to produce high-purity nitric oxide. Here, we propose a synergistic reactive separation system that combines iron-chelate selective absorption with an electrochemical reaction to convert nitric oxide to nitrate. Among the iron-based chelates tested, EDTA was found to be the most effective in capturing gas-phase nitric oxide. Direct electrochemical oxidation of Fe-EDTA-NO solution exhibited Faradaic efficiency and a partial current density toward nitrate of 70% and 30.1 mA cm−2 at 2.2 V vs RHE and pH 7, resulting in a 43-fold enhancement of nitrate partial current density and a 2-fold improvement in Faradaic efficiency compared to simple purging without selective absorbent. Nitrate was then selectively recovered from the Fe-EDTA system using simple polarity reversal following electrooxidation with a separation factor of 13 over background sulfate. This study offers a new approach to gas-phase NO remediation and valorization using an electrified means.

Determination of Trace Thorium and Uranium Impurities in Scandium with High Matrix by ICP-OES.

High-purity scandium oxide is the principal raw material of high-purity scandium metal and aluminum scandium alloy targets for electronic materials. The performance of electronic materials will be significantly impacted by the presence of trace amounts of radionuclides due to the increase in free electrons. However, about 10 ppm of Th and 0.5-20 ppm of U are typically present in commercially available high-purity scandium oxide, which it is highly necessary to remove. It is currently challenging to detect trace impurities in high-purity scandium oxide, and the detection range of trace thorium and uranium is relatively high. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a technique that can accurately detect trace Th and U in high concentrations of scandium solution in the research on high-purity scandium oxide quality detection and the removal of trace impurities. This paper adopted some advantageous initiatives to develop a method for the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) determination of Th and U in high-concentration scandium solutions, such as spectral line selection, matrix influence analysis, and spiked recovery. The reliability of the method was verified. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of Th is less than 0.4%, and the RSD of U is less than 3%, indicating that this method has good stability and high precision. This method can be used for the accurate determination of trace Th and U in high Sc matrix samples, which provides an effective technical support for the preparation of high purity scandium oxide, and supports the production of high-purity scandium oxide.

THE TECHNOLOGY OF EXTRACTION AND ENRICHMENT OF SCANDIUM FROM URANIUM-PHOSPHORUS-RARE EARTH CONCENTRATE

The paper presents the results of pilot tests of scandium extraction technology from uranium-rare-earth phosphorite to obtain high-purity scandium oxide Sc2O3. It is shown that scandium in phosphorites is accompanied by thorium and rare earth elements (REE), which requires the development of a technology for the complex processing of raw materials. Scandium with a purity of 99.0% was obtained from a concentrate of various degrees of enrichment and shavings of scandium alloys by dissolving them in sulfuric acid, extraction, and selective precipitation with oxalic acid. In the process of testing, scandium oxides were obtained with a purity of 99.0; 99.9, and 99.99%, suitable, for example, for the production of alloys based on magnesium for medical purposes.

Suboxide vapor phase epitaxy for growth of high-purity gallium oxide

We propose using gallium suboxide, Ga2O, as a Ga source for the growth of high-purity Ga2O3 by vapor phase epitaxy. It is shown in a thermochemical analysis that the suboxide can be generated effectively in the reaction between Ga2O3 and Ga and subsequently be utilized for the epitaxial growth of Ga2O3. A demonstration of Ga2O3 crystal growth was carried out on β-Ga2O3 (001) substrates with Ga2O and O2 used as the gaseous precursors, resulting in high-purity epitaxial layers. No possible donor impurities from the sources or growth environment, such as Si or Sn, were detected in the grown layers.

Separation of tungsten and cobalt from cemented tungsten carbide by rapid breakdown anodization

Cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) has been used as an important industrial material and secondary resource of tungsten (W) and cobalt (Co). The recycling methodology of WC-Co scraps has drawn much attention because the recovery of strategic metals such as W and Co are critical. Here, rapid breakdown anodization (RBA) was applied for the first time to the conversion of WC-Co into high-purity hydrated tungsten oxide (WO3-H2O) up to 99.99 wt% and pure Co metal up to 90.43 wt% by using WC-Co as a sacrificial anode. Effective cobalt leaching was achieved in acidic aqueous solution without encountering anodic passivation issue due to the successful removal of tungsten oxidation layer during the electro-dissolution of WC-Co. Based on the particle formation mechanism of RBA, a two-stage reaction was confirmed, including electrochemical dissolution and chemical precipitation. The high purity of recovered WO3-H2O powders was realized by using high current density and high electrolyte concentration. We demonstrate that RBA is a new pathway for effective and environmentally-friendly WC-Co recycling with a significantly simplified process compared to conventional hydrometallurgical methods.

Resource-saving and environmental protection in nuclear-grade zirconium and hafnium production

The development of efficient and environmentally friendly technological processes for processing zircon concentrate is an urgent problem in the technology of producing reactor-pure zirconium and hafnium used in nuclear power. The review presents the environmental, technical and economic characteristics of zircon decomposition processes using existing industrial technologies and provides data on the environmental safety of each technology. It is shown that current industrial technologies do not meet the criteria of sustainable development and allow emissions of toxic reagents into the environment. New applications of particularly pure zirconium and hafnium compounds which have emerged in recent decades, with impurity content of 10-3–10-5%, require less corrosive reagents than chlorine and fluorine, new resource-saving processes and equipment. Today, technical zirconium oxide with a purity of 98% is the main industrial product of zircon processing, but it allows for losses of hafnium, scandium and silicon. This is equivalent to financial losses of over USD 150 million per year. Based on the analysis of promising halogen-free technologies, a new integrated zircon processing technology is proposed which allows producing scarce hafnium, scandium and silicon compounds along with reactor-pure zirconium and its high-purity chemical compounds. The chemicals consumed in the zircon processing process are utilized in the production of mineral fertilizers, eliminating environmental pollution. The use of the highly efficient refining extraction process in a nitric acid environment using centrifugal extractors with an available tributilphosphate extractant allows us to obtain reactor metals with a purity of 99.95%. The production of high-purity zirconium, hafnium, scandium and silicon oxides meets the demand for non-nuclear products, which expands the volume of integrated zircon processing and meets the growing market demand for new functional materials. The integrated approach to zircon processing can reduce the cost of zircon by producing by-products, recycling consumed reagents and eliminating non-recyclable solid and liquid waste. This will ensure environmental protection even with relatively small volumes of reactor-pure metal production.

Synthesis of high yield, crystalline and thermally stable rare earth (Sm, Eu, Gd) oxide square nanoplates for near-infrared light activatable photocatalysis

In this work, high-purity rare earth oxide (REO) square nanoplates (SNPs) were fabricated and their near-infrared light-activated photocatalytic properties were investigated for pollutant degradation.