High Purity Praseodymium Metal

Product Details

Product name: Praseodymium Metal

Chemical formula: Pr

CAS: 7440-10-0

EINECS: 231-120-3

Purity: 99.5%

Color: silver white

Atomic weight:140.91

Atomic number: 59

Melting point: 931°C

Boiling point: 3520°C

Density: 6.77g/cm3

Production standards: GB/T 19395-2013

Shape: block, powder, sheet, wire, rod, foil or according to customer's requirements

Packaging: packed in iron drum, lined with single/double plastic bags and filled with argon for protection or according to customer's requirements

 

 

The content of praseodymium in the earth's crust is about 0.000553%, only lower than cerium, yttrium, lanthanum, and scandium. It is the fifth most abundant element in rare earths. It often coexists with other rare earth elements in many minerals. Nuclear fission products also contain praseodymium. Praseodymium is ubiquitous in carbonates in the mineral bastnaesite, which accounts for the largest proportion of the world's rare earth resources in China and the United States. The only natural stable isotope of praseodymium is praseodymium-141.

 

 

Praseodymium is a silvery-white, medium-soft metallic element. It is a lanthanide element. Its corrosion resistance in the air is stronger than that of lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and europium. However, it will produce a layer of brittle green oxide when exposed to air. It is a chemical substance, so pure praseodymium must be stored in mineral oil or sealed plastic. Like other rare earth elements, praseodymium has chronic low toxicity and is not a biologically necessary element.

 

Praseodymium is a rare earth element that is used in large amounts, and a large part of it is used in the form of mixed rare earths, such as purification modifiers for metal materials, chemical catalysts, agricultural rare earths, etc. Praseodymium and neodymium are a pair of elements with the most similar properties among rare earths and the most difficult to separate. It is difficult to separate them by chemical methods. Industrial production usually uses extraction methods and ion exchange methods. If they are used in pairs in the form of praseodymium and neodymium enrichments, their common effects can be fully utilized and the price is cheaper than single element products. Praseodymium-neodymium alloy (Praseodymium-Neodymium metal) has become an independent product, which can be used both as permanent magnet materials and as non-ferrous metal alloy modification additives. Adding praseodymium and neodymium concentrates to Y-type zeolite molecular sieves to prepare petroleum cracking catalysts can improve the activity, selectivity and stability of the catalyst. As a plastic modification additive, adding praseodymium and neodymium enrichment to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) can significantly improve the wear resistance of PTFE.

 

Permanent magnetism makes praseodymium an important doping element. An appropriate amount of praseodymium can effectively increase and improve the coercivity and stability of permanent magnet materials. Using these permanent magnets to make motors takes up less space than traditional magnetic pole motors, has no loss, does not generate heat, and can reduce weight by 30% compared to traditional motors. Praseodymium is also used in fiber amplifiers. Fiber amplifiers are devices that directly amplify optical signals in fiber transmission systems online. Among them, praseodymium-doped fiber amplifiers (PDFA) can amplify in the 1300~1360nm spectral region.

 

 

Solvent extraction and ion exchange methods are used industrially to separate and purify praseodymium from mixed rare earth solutions obtained by processing bastnatzite or monazite. Praseodymium metal is produced by reducing praseodymium fluoride or chloride with calcium.

Light rare earth metals such as lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium have low melting points and can precipitate in a molten state on the cathode during the electrolysis process, so they are generally produced by electrolysis.

It is often produced from hydrated praseodymium chloride, PrCl3·xH2O, after dehydration and reduction with metallic calcium, or from anhydrous praseodymium chloride, which is melted and then electrolyzed.

 

 

1. Praseodymium is widely used in architectural ceramics and daily ceramics. It is mixed with ceramic glaze to make colored glaze. It can also be used as an underglaze pigment alone. The resulting pigment is light yellow, pure and elegant in tone.

 

2. Used to make permanent magnets. Rare earth permanent magnet materials are the most popular rare earth application field today. The performance of praseodymium as a permanent magnet material alone is not outstanding, but it is an excellent synergistic element that can improve magnetic properties. Whether it is the first generation rare earth permanent magnet material samarium cobalt permanent magnet alloy (SmCo5) or the third generation rare earth permanent magnet material neodymium iron boron (Nd2Fe17B), adding an appropriate amount of praseodymium can effectively enhance and improve the performance of the permanent magnet material. For example, adding part of Pr to SmCo5 instead of Sm can increase the magnetic energy product of the permanent magnet material. The ratio of the two is generally 80% Sm-20% Pr. If too much praseodymium is added, it will reduce the coercive force and stability of the material. In the third-generation rare earth permanent magnet material NdFeB, adding praseodymium can improve the coercive force of the material. Germany, Japan and other countries have added part of praseodymium when producing high coercive force NdFeB magnets. The addition amount of praseodymium is 5% to 8%, up to 10%, which can replace 1/3 of neodymium. Magnetic materials have higher requirements on the quality of praseodymium, which should be at least the same quality as neodymium. Adding praseodymium can also improve the oxidation resistance (air corrosion resistance) and mechanical properties of the magnet, and has been widely used in various electronic devices and motors. In addition, adding Pr to the new rare earth bonded permanent magnet material (Sm)2Fe17N9 of samarium iron nitrogen can also improve the performance, which will further expand the application of praseodymium.

 

3. Used in petroleum catalytic cracking. Adding praseodymium and neodymium concentrates to Y-type zeolite molecular sieves to prepare petroleum cracking catalysts can improve the activity, selectivity and stability of the catalyst.

 

4.Praseodymium can also be used for abrasive polishing. As we all know, pure cerium-based polishing powder is usually light yellow and is a high-quality polishing material for optical glass. It has replaced iron oxide red powder, which has low polishing efficiency and pollutes the production environment. However, it was found that neodymium oxide has little effect on polishing, but praseodymium has good polishing properties. Rare earth polishing powder containing praseodymium will be reddish brown, also known as "red powder", but this red is not iron oxide red, but the color of rare earth polishing powder becomes darker due to the presence of praseodymium oxide. Praseodymium has also been used as a new grinding material to make praseodymium-containing corundum grinding wheels. Compared with white corundum, the efficiency and durability can be increased by more than 30% when grinding carbon structural steel, stainless steel, and high-temperature alloys. In order to reduce costs, praseodymium and neodymium concentrates were often used as raw materials in the past, so they were called praseodymium and neodymium corundum grinding wheels.

 

5. Praseodymium is increasingly used in the field of optical fibers. A praseodymium-doped fiber amplifier (PDFA) that amplifies in the 1300~1360nm spectral region has been developed, and the technology is becoming increasingly mature. With its excellent performance-price ratio, PDFA has great practical significance for the construction, transformation and system upgrade of the 1550nm CATV system fiber optic cable TV currently being laid out in large quantities. PDFA will fundamentally change the existing 1550nmCATV network pattern, making the 1310nmCATV system an ideal choice to replace the 1550nm system in HFC system transformation.

 

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