Synthesis of Rare-Earth Intermetallics by Induction Melting

含有稀土元素的材料在许多技术应用中都有发现，比如电脑中的含钕磁铁，混合动力汽车中的含镧电池，平板显示器中的含铕荧光粉。但危机已经迫在眉睫，因为这些元素的供应绝大多数由中国主导（97%）。为了减少这种脆弱性，加拿大有机会通过寻找新的应用来开发其丰富的稀土矿产资源，从而使其开采在经济上更加可行。我们希望发现这些稀土元素的金属间化合物，目标是新的超导体和磁性材料。为了确定这些化合物的结构和性质，重要的是获得高质量的晶体和纯样品，这在传统技术制备时并不总是容易的。为了克服这些困难，我们建议使用感应加热，其工作原理与现代电磁炉烹饪相同：物体变热，不是通过传热，而是通过其中感应的交流电。由于这种加热是高度均匀的，无接触的，可控的，所制备的金属间样品的质量大大提高。感应炉是任何固态化学实验室研究金属间化合物的必备设备。经过培训使用该熔炉的学生将接受适当的培训，这对从事需要稀土元素化学和冶金专业知识的职业是有价值的。

Materials containing rare-earth elements are found in many technological applications, such as neodymium-containing magnets in computers, lanthanum-containing batteries in hybrid cars, and europium-containing phosphors in flat panel displays. But there is a crisis at hand, because the supply of these elements is dominated overwhelmingly by China (97%). To reduce this vulnerability, Canada has an opportunity to develop its substantial rare-earth mineral resources by finding new applications so that their extraction becomes more economically viable. We wish to discover intermetallic compounds of these rare-earth elements, targeting new superconductors and magnetic materials. To determine the structures and properties of these compounds, it is important to obtain high-quality crystals and pure samples, which is not always easy when prepared by conventional techniques. To overcome these difficulties, we propose the use of induction heating, which operates through the same principle used in modern induction stoves for cooking: an object gets hot, not through heat transfer, but through an alternating current induced in it. Because this heating is highly uniform, contactless, and controllable, the quality of the intermetallic samples prepared is much improved. An induction furnace is an essential piece of equipment in any solid-state chemistry lab researching intermetallic compounds. Students trained to use this furnace will then receive the proper training that will be valuable for pursuing careers requiring expertise in the chemistry and metallurgy of rare-earth elements.