Rare Earth Er Research Articles

Diffusion behavior and mechanical properties of the Mg-Er binary system

The Mg-Er binary system, as a new lightweight alloy material system with important research value and prospects for development and application, has attracted much attention from researchers in the field of materials science. Studies have shown that the addition of the rare earth element Er can improve the mechanical strength and heat resistance of magnesium alloys. However, the specific mechanism of the interaction between Mg and Er and its effect on the mechanical properties still need to be studied in depth. A combination of microscopic morphology characterization and nanoindentation experiments were employed to investigate the binary diffusion behavior and mechanical properties of the Mg-Er system between 748 K and 823 K in this research. The results indicate that the growth constant of the diffusion layer increases with temperature, with Mg24Er5 exhibiting a higher growth constant than the sum of Mg2Er and MgEr. Notably, the Mg2Er phase has the lowest growth activation energy (127.81 kJ/mol), which suggests that it is formed first during the initial growth stage due to its relatively low energy barrier. Moreover, the interdiffusion coefficient of Mg24Er5 was found to be the highest. By calculating diffusion activation energy, this sequence of formation (Mg2Er→Mg24Er5→MgEr) is in agreement with the trend of growth activation energy. Additionally, nanoindentation experiments and first-principles calculations were utilized to derive the mechanical properties of the Mg-Er binary system. The investigations unveil that Mg2Er boasts the highest hardness and Young’s modulus. These findings have significant implications for understanding the correlation between structure and properties for the Mg-Er alloy system.

Enhanced thermoelectric performance of n-type Mg3.2Sb1.5Bi0.5 by rare-earth elements (Er, Tb, Tm) doping into Mg site

The n-type Mg3.2Sb1.5Bi0.5 has emerged as a promising candidate for thermoelectric materials and has attracted significant research interest. However, effective n-type dopants have been predominantly limited to chalcogens. In our work, we found that rare-earth elements (Er, Tb, Tm) are highly effective dopants for n-type Mg3.2Sb1.5Bi0.5. Through a combination of theoretical predictions and experimental validations, we demonstrate that these dopants significantly enhance the carrier concentration, leading to improved thermoelectric performance. Specifically, we employed direct ball milling and spark plasma sintering to introduce rare-earth elements at the Mg sites. Experimental results show that doping rare-earth elements in n-type Mg3.2Sb1.5Bi0.5 has a higher carrier concentration ( ≈ 8.4 × 1019 cm−3), which is higher than that of chalcogen-doped samples ( ≈ 2 × 1019 cm−3). High power factor (S2σ) ≈ 16 μW cm−1K−2 was obtained in rare-earth elements (Er, Tb, Tm) doped samples. Combined with the lowered lattice thermal conductivity due to the introduction of effective phonon scattering centers in Mg3.2−xAxSb1.5Bi0.5 (A= Er, Tb, Tm) sample. Finally, the ZT values of all doped samples reached ≈ 1.44 at 750 K. The highest peak ZT is ≈ 1.65 at 750 K for Mg3.195Er0.005Sb1.5Bi0.5. The rare-earth elements (Er, Tb, Tm) doped n-type Mg3Sb1.5Bi0.5 has comparable thermoelectric performance with the chalcogen-doped n-type Mg3Sb1.5Bi0.5, exhibiting promising potential for practical applications. This present work offers a comprehensive understanding of the effect of cation site doping improves the thermoelectric properties of n-type Mg3Sb2.

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Cu2−xRExSe (x = 0–0.2) by Doping with Rare Earth Elements Tm, Er, and Lu

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Cu2−xRExSe (x = 0–0.2) by Doping with Rare Earth Elements Tm, Er, and Lu

Enhanced photodielectric effect of Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-based ceramics by poling and quenching treatment

The photodielectric effects of rare earth elements Er, Eu, and Ho doped Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 (NBT) ceramics are investigated. The dependence of light intensity and irradiation time on the photodielectric effects were clarified, and the thermal-induced and photo-induced changes in permittivity are distinguished. At 1 kHz, the Δεr/εdark (Δεr = εphoto-εdark) of NBT-Er/Eu and NBT-Er/Ho are 2.57 % and 2.08 %, respectively. Furthermore, poling and quenching treatments are employed to improve the photodielectric effect of NBT-Er/Ho ceramics. At 1 kHz, the Δεr/εdark of poled and quenched NBT-Er/Ho increase to 5.22 % and 2.71 %, respectively. The increase of Δεr/εdark of poled sample is resulted from the lattice distortion of the ceramics while the increase of Δεr/εdark of quenched sample is due to the increase in oxygen vacancies. This work is conducive to understand the unconventional optical and dielectric effects in ferroelectric ceramics.

Data Fusion of Acoustic and Optical Emission from Laser-Induced Plasma for In Situ Measurement of Rare Earth Elements in Molten LiCl-KCl.

Molten salts have a significant potential for use as next-generation nuclear reactor coolants and in pyroprocessing for the recycling of used nuclear fuel. However, the molten salt composition needs to be known at all times, and high temperatures and intense ionizing radiation pose challenges for the monitoring instrumentation. Although the technique of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been studied for in situ measurements of molten salts, trials to improve its monitoring accuracy using chemometrics are lacking. In this study, a data fusion technique using the LIBS optical and laser-induced acoustic (LIA) signals was investigated to enhance the measurement accuracy for molten salt monitoring. Prediction models were constructed using the partial least-squares method, and the variable importance in projection scores was analyzed to evaluate the effect of incorporating the LIA signal into the analysis. This study investigates rare earth elements Eu, Er, and Pr found not only in nuclear but also in other settings such as laser and magnetic materials. The analysis of LIBS data without data fusion resulted in a root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.0774-0.0913 wt %, whereas the prediction model using data fusion led to approximately 18-40% enhanced RMSEP (0.0461-0.0679 wt %). The results suggest that fusing the LIBS data with the simultaneously recorded LIA data can improve the monitoring accuracy of rare earth element composition in molten salts.

A novel Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Si-Zr-Er alloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

A novel Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Si-Zr-Er as-printed alloy with a tensile strength of 450 MPa was successfully prepared by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). Solidification cracks were effectively suppressed by the synergistic effect of Si, Zr and rare earth Er. Many cellular eutectic structures composed of α-Al, Mg2Si and Al2CuMg phases were observed in the alloy, with Al3(Er, Zr) and MgZn2 as the fine precipitates inside the cells. In addition, twins were observed for the first time in Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy prepared by LPBF due to the high rapid solidification inherent to LPBF. Twin boundaries acted as nucleation point for the precipitation of Mg2Si and Al2CuMg, which is called “twin nucleation” theory. This study could provide a scientific theoretical reference and new approach for the preparation of high-strength aluminum alloys by LPBF.

Rectifying behavior of the GaAs / Er-doped SnO2 heterostructure: Interface dipole role and monochromatic light influence

The characteristic current-voltage (I x V) curves are measured across the interface of a GaAs/SnO2 heterostructure, where the top layer (tin dioxide) is doped with 1 at% of the rare-earth Er. It leads to a diode-like behavior, which is associated with the presence of electric dipoles mainly at interface. Thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) technique is also applied to this heterostructure in the dark and in the presence of monochromatic light from a He–Cd laser or a InGaN LED. The effect of monochromatic light on the possible formation or destruction of dipoles in this heterostructure system is analyzed by the I x V curves as well as by the TSDC data, considering the main types of defects in this structure: EL2 in the GaAs side, or oxygen vacancies and ionized Er ions in the SnO2 side. Photo-induced TSDC (PTSDC) points to the destruction of bands previously obtained in the dark, suggesting a large difference on the thermal and optical activation energies of defects. This effect is stronger with the illumination of a InGaN LED (2.76 eV) compared to He–Cd laser (3.80 eV) irradiation.

Effect of Bi-Er-O addition on the electrical properties of ZnBiCoMnSb based varistor

In order to restrain the breakdown voltage gradient E1 mA at a low level and simultaneously improve nonlinear coefficient α, the rare earth element Er was doped into ZnBiCoMnSb based varistor ceramic in the form of Bi-Er-O phase. As a result, the excellent electrical performances including low E1 mA of 190 V/mm, high α of 55.6 as well as low leakage current IL of 2.5 μA/cm2 are obtained in 3 wt% Bi-Er-O phase modified ZnBiCoMnSb based varistor ceramic. It is found that the concentration of Er at grain boundaries is slightly higher than that in ZnO grains, while it is uniformly distributed throughout the bulk ceramic. This characteristic of element distribution mainly contributes to the enhancement of α by forming interface state densities and deep bulk traps at grain boundaries, rather than E1 mA. The reported herein strategy to restrain E1 mA and improve α at the same time on ZnBiCoMnSb based varistor ceramic can act as a reference for further fabrication of low-E1 mA varistor ceramics with excellent nonlinear performances by rare earth elements doping.

Effect of Er addition on the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behaviour of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy manufactured by laser powder bed fusion

The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of rare-earth element Er on the microstructure and properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). Compared with the as-printed Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy without Er addition, the as-printed Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Er alloy with a bimodal grain structure had finer cellular structures and denser precipitation phases, which significantly improved the alloy's mechanical and corrosion resistance properties. The tensile strength of the as-printed Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Er alloy was 383 MPa, which is 137 MPa higher than that of the as-printed Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy without Er addition. It was intended to use T6 heat treatment process to further regulate the mechanical properties of the as-printed alloy, but the formation of Si-rich hard and brittle eutectic phases with sizes of 2–5 μm in the matrix resulted in a decrease in the strength of the alloy, which is contrary to the traditional 7xxx aluminum alloys. Besides, the addition of Er element improved the alloy's corrosion resistance by decreasing the corrosion current density and raising the intergranular corrosion (IGC) resistance, and the maximum intergranular corrosion depth decreased from 174 µm to 68 µm after Er addition.

A closer look at the magnetic, photo-electrochemical, and optical properties of rare earth (Sm, Dy, Ho, Er, and Yb)-doped manganese ferrite for potential use as a photocatalyst

For photocatalysis technology to be applied industrially, there has been a significant increase in the need for visible-light-driven photocatalysts that possess exceptional superparamagnetic characteristics to facilitate easy separation. Hence, in this study, rare earth elements (RE) (Sm, Yb, Dy, Er, and Ho) were systematically doped into manganese ferrite (MF) using the coprecipitation method to serve two purposes, namely, reducing the photogenerated electron-hole recombination during photocatalysis and modifying the magnetic properties of MF to become superparamagnetic. The synthesised Re-doped MF was found to be visible light active, as evidenced by the transient photocurrent response and the obtained band gaps, which were in the range of 1.84–1.93 eV. From the cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Tafel polarization plots, it was evident that different RE element dopants have different effects on improving the electrochemical properties of MF. Overall, fast electron transfer of the synthesised materials was found to decrease in the following order: Sm-MF > Dy-MF > Ho-MF > MF > Er-MF > Yb-MF. The g-factor and peak-to-peak line width were found to be in the range of (2.221–2.317) and (93.17–149.85 mT), respectively. The resonance field and hysteresis loop (Hc) were found to be in the range of (289.2–301.86 mT) and (8.24–32.61 mT), respectively. Overall, the synthesised RE-doped MF exhibits ferromagnetic properties, and the obtained small Hc values hint at these particles exhibiting superparamagnetic properties. In summary, doping MF with Sm, Dy, and Ho is more desirable as it alters the magnetic properties towards superparamagnetic and improves its electrochemical properties. Thus, this study is of importance in advancing the field of photocatalysis in water treatment and material science.

Effects of Er addition on the hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of AZ31 alloy

AZ31 magnesium alloys typically have poor room temperature ductility after initial deformation. To address this disadvantage, rare earth element Er is introduced to regulate the structure, weaken texture, and promote non-basal slip to achieve plasticization. In this study, the deformation behavior and microstructure evolution during the hot compression process of Er added AZ31 alloy were systematically investigated. Hot compression stress-strain curves showed that the addition of Er reduced the deformation resistance. The constitutive equation and processing map were established. By combining the processing map with the microstructure analysis and texture evolution, an optimal processing area was determined to be 350–400 °C at a strain rate of 0.01 s−1. The influence of Er addition on the twinning behavior, recrystallization mechanism, and slip system of the AZ31 alloy were discussed. During the deformation process, the twinning behavior violates the maximum SF criterion, which is related to severe local stress. Continuous dynamic recrystallization, discontinuous dynamic recrystallization, and twinning induced recrystallization are all detected in the alloy. Through the in-grain misorientation axis and transmission electron microscopy, it can be confirmed that the addition of Er promoted the occurrence of pyramidal <c+a> slip. This is related to the modification of stacking fault energy by Er and the hindrance effect of the second phase containing Er on the basal dislocation.

Modulation of photoluminescence properties by poling and quenching strategy in rare earth ions doped Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-based ceramics

With the continuous development of the society, optical ceramics are more and more widely used in daily life. In this work, the photochromic (PC) and photoluminescence (PL) properties of Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 (NBT)-based ceramics doped with different rare-earth elements (Er, Eu, and Ho) are investigated. It is found that NBT-Er\\Eu and NBT-Er\\Ho ceramics have good up-conversion PL properties under 980 nm laser excitation. After poling and quenching treatments, the PL intensity of NBT-Er\\Eu ceramics increases by 1.5 and 11.7 times, respectively, and the NBT-Er\\Ho ceramics increases by 5.1 and 3.6 times, respectively. Besides, the rare-earth ions doped NBT-based ceramics exhibit fast PC response and self-bleaching behavior. In addition, multicolor luminescence behavior (from bright green to orange-yellow) is obtained in NBT-Er\\Eu ceramics, suggesting the potential application of this material in the field of optical information storage and optical anti-counterfeiting. Therefore, this work not only provides a new PC material exhibiting fast PC response and self-bleaching behavior, but also develops new universal strategies to modulate PL properties without changing the composition.

The single near-infrared upconversion luminescence of a novel KYb (MoO4)2: Er3+ phosphor for the temperature sensing

The rare earth doping upconversion luminescence (UCL) materials exhibit multimodal emission, which has huge potential applications. However, it is still a difficult problem to obtain a single emission by modulating UCL, especially the modulation of single red light and single near-infrared light. In this work, we report a novel UCL KYb (MoO4)2: Er3+ phosphor, which can achieve a single near-infrared emission (804 nm) under rare earth Er3+ doping. Its pure phase was successfully prepared by high-temperature solid-state method, and its optimal Er3+ doping concentration was found to be 0.1 %. Excited at 980 nm laser, KYb (MoO4)2: Er3+ exhibit a single near-infrared UCL attributed to the 4I9/2 → 4I15/2 transition of Er3+ ions. To further explain its UCL mechanism, the power dependence, ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared absorption spectrum, excitation spectrum and emission spectrum of KYb (MoO4)2: Er3+ was measured. Due to the excellent near-infrared emission, the temperature-dependent UCL properties of the KYb (MoO4)2: Er3+ material is investigated in the temperature range from 298 K to 673 K. The linear relationship between the UCL and the temperature, And the sensitivity of KYb (MoO4)2: Er3+ phosphor reaches the maximum value at 673 K, which is 0.0078 K−1. The single near-infrared luminescence with good penetrability and large sensitivity makes KYb (MoO4)2: Er3+ have a promising application prospect in the fields of non-contact temperature sensing and bioimaging.

Antibacterial mechanism and enhancement of antibacterial activity under visible light in Er3+-doped BiOBr

The introduction of oxygen defects in semiconductor electronic structures is considered to be an effective strategy to improve their photocatalytic activity. In this work, rare-earth Er3+−doped BiOBr (Er/BiOBr) with oxygen-rich vacancies (OVs) was prepared via simple hydrothermal method. Compared with pure BiOBr, Er/BiOBr has a narrower band gap and more abundant OVs, which together improve the separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers. The introduction of Er not only creates impurity states between conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB), but also produces more OVs as electron traps. Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were used as evaluation systems for these materials with different Er3+ doping contents. The results showed that under the combined action of ·O2− and H2O2, 2.0% EBB samples with Er3+ doping content of BiOBr showed the best broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, and E. coli and S. aureus were completely inactivated at 0.03 mg ml−1 and 0.05 mg ml−1 concentrations. The surface and interfacial structures of Er/BiOBr samples were studied by XRD, brunauer-emmet-teller method, SEM, TEM and EDX. OVs and photogenerated carrier separation in Er/BiOBr were determined by ESR, PL and photochemical detection methods. More importantly, through the detection of lipid peroxidation and bacterial respiratory chain dehydrogenase activities, the internal and external processes of ROS on bacterial inactivation were determined, and the photocatalytic antibacterial mechanism was summarized. This study for the antimicrobial properties of rare earth ions doped improve photocatalytic materials provides a new train of thought.

Enhanced separation via confined shear flow in microchannel: A novel insight into the role of confined hydrogen bonds in microfluid and its effect on competitive mass transfer of hydrated ions

Microfluidic extraction and separation have demonstrated enormous potential in the field of purification and separation, but the essence of its enhanced separation has always been a focus of debate in the academic community. This study reveals that the interaction between extractant molecules and ions in the process of microfluidic extraction exhibits some significant differences from conventional liquid–liquid two phase stirring dispersed droplet extraction. The interaction between extractant molecules and metal ions through the hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) bridged by water molecules around the hydration shell of metal ions exhibits a noticeable change in confined flow in microchannel. It was demonstrated that in our experiments that the strength difference of this interaction is subjected to the ability of different metal ions to bind water molecules. Therefore, the differences in the interaction between extractant molecules and ions through the hydrogen bonding “water-bridge” are easier to be distinguished within the confined fluid, due to the different effects from the confined environment on mass transfer of metal ions with different abilities to bind water molecules. The confined fluid environment strengthened the difference in the interaction, leading to an amplification of difference in ion diffusion rates, thereby achieving enhanced separation of target rare earth Er3+ ions from the coexisting background ions. Hydrophilic coexisting background ions can be separated by reducing the microchannel width, so that the βEr/Al increases from 2.95 to 49.78. However, the relatively hydrophobic background ions can be separated by increasing flow rates, so that the βEr/Mg increases from 75.32 to 299.06. This work provides a new insight into the essence of microfluidic enhanced separation from the perspective of confined H-bonds.

The enrichment and separation of lanthanides ions from wastewater using solvent sublation coupled with high speed countercurrent chromatography

Rare earth elements are non-renewable resources. During their processing, a lot of wastewater are produced, which poses a danger to human beings and the environment. Herein, the enrichment method of solvent sublation for La (III), Ce (III), Gd (III) and Er (III) was designed and established. Enrichment parameters pH, flotation time, extractant concentration and air flow rate were optimized. The result showed that the highest recovery of La (III) reached up to 92.33 % under the optimized conditions of pH 8, 10 min of flotation time, 0.15 mol L-1 of the extractant 2-ethylhexyl phosphate acid-2-ethylhexyl ester and 30 mL min−1 of air flow rate. The light rare earth element Ce (III) and heavy rare earth elements Gd (III) and Er (III) were also examined and obtained with maximum recovery. The stability of the extractant complexation with rare earth ions and the mechanism of competitive extraction were studied by density functional theory calculations. The extraction ability was following sequence of La (III) < Ce (III) < Gd (III) < Er (III). The enrichment of rare earth elements from real water samples was investigated and obtained result was consistent with the experiment result of synthetic solutions. The established high speed countercurrent chromatography method was used to successfully separate La (III), Ce (III), Gd (III) and Er (III) from the solution of rare earth ions enriched by solvent sublation.

Resistance of (Dy0.2Ho0.2Er0.2Tm0.2Lu0.2)2Hf2O7 top-coat material in thermal/environmental barrier coatings to calcium-magnesia-alumina-silicon attack at 1300 °C and 1500 °C

Rare earth elements (Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Lu), characterized by low-diffusivity in silicate melts, were designed as defect-fluorite structure high-entropy material (Dy0.2Ho0.2Er0.2Tm0.2Lu0.2)2Hf2O7 to determine its resistance to calcium-magnesia-alumina-silicon (CMAS) attack. The results indicate that corrosion reactions preferentially crystallize anorthite and garnet phases in the front of molten CMAS at 1300 °C, which alleviates rapid infiltration of CMAS. The reaction between the melt and (Dy0.2Ho0.2Er0.2Tm0.2Lu0.2)2Hf2O7 forms mixture layers comprising apatite and fluorite phases at 1500 °C, which are accompanied by the prompt exhaustion of CMAS. The capability of intaking RE determines the formation mechanisms of apatite with two different structures. The study reveals that the high-entropy material effectively resists molten CMAS attack at 1300 °C; however, its effectiveness in preventing rapid corrosion decay diminishes at 1500 °C. Factors affecting reaction control were discussed at each condition to elucidate the interactions between the multi-cation hafnate material and silicate deposits. This study represents a significant stride towards advancing high-entropy hafnate thermal barrier coating material applications in aerospace engineering.

Surface morphology analysis of silicon doped with erbium atoms

This scientific work presents an analysis of the structural and electrical properties of light-emitting structures based on a single crystal of silicon doped with the rare earth element. As a result of thermal treatment of the initial samples at a temperature of 1200 ºC, it was found that the surface relief width of the sample decreased by 1.5÷2 times and the surface height increased by 3 times. According to the atomic force microscope analysis, it was found that n-Si&lt;Er&gt; samples have nanostructured surface defects with a surface relief width of 20÷300 nm and a height of 9÷42 nm. It was found that impurity atoms have a significant effect on the quantitative parameters of the initial sample atoms. As a result of the introduction of Er atoms into the control sample, it was determined that the number of technological impurities (O, C) increased by 10-15% by introducing one of the rare-earth elements (Er).

Effect of codoping of rare earth elements and Cr on multiferroic, optical and photocatalytic properties of BiFeO3

In the present work, first principle calculations have been performed to study the combined effect of A (Bi) and B (Fe) site doping on the structural, multiferroic, optical and photocatalytic properties of BiFeO3 (BFO). Rare earth elements (La, Ce, Gd, Nd, Er and Eu) are doped at the A-site while Cr is doped at the B-site in perovskite BFO. A variation in total magnetic moments and spontaneous polarization of the doped systems is observed that are governed by the introduction of the rare earth elements. A maximum polarization of 110μC/cm2 is obtained for (Gd,Cr) doped BFO and the maximum magnetization of 5.1μB/cell is obtained for (Nd,Cr) doped BFO. From the study of partial electronic density of states it has been observed that amongst all the dopants incorporated as rare earth elements, the (Er,Cr)BFO system exhibits the minimum bandgap of 1.94 eV and thus shifts the absorption edge deep into the visible region which has been confirmed through the optical spectra. The band-edge alignment of the pure and codoped systems has revealed that (Er,Cr)BFO exhibits the maximum potential to be a promising photocatalyst with improved efficiency as compared to pristine BFO.

Effect of various Er/Al-Ti-C ratios on microstructure and tensile properties of the As-cast Al-10Si-0.8Fe alloy

This paper investigates the improvement of the microstructure and tensile properties of Al-Si-Fe alloys by adding small amounts of Er and Al-Ti-C. The refinement and strengthening mechanisms of this modified alloy are also investigated. The experimental results show that the addition of Al-Ti-C in the Al-Si-Fe alloy can induce multiple refining effects, including the refinement of α-Al grains, SDAS, and eutectic Si particles. When the compound addition ratio is close to 1:2, with the addition of 0.20 % Al-Ti-C and 0.40 % Er, the grain size, SDAS, and eutectic silicon particle area decrease, resulting in the best refinement of the alloy structure. Due to the microstructure refinement, the yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and elongation (EL %) are improved, leading to the best strengthening of the mechanical properties. In the eutectic Si phase, small Al3Er particles formed by Er and Al play an important role in refining eutectic silicon and increasing the strength of the alloy. The rare earth element Er can form small Al3Er particles in the matrix and generate Al3Er and AlSiEr phases, which can play an anchoring role in the alloy and improve the Al-Si-Fe alloy strength.