Neodymium oxide, deposition

Eecent work by L. M. Dermis2 and his co-workers has shown that electrolysis may be of considerable value in effecting a complete or partial separation of the oxides of the rare earth metals. Prom a neutral solution of the nitrates of neodymium, praseodymium, lanthanum, and samarium, nearly all the lanthanum is deposited as hydroxide in the last fractions discharged on the cathode. The hydroxides are deposited fractionally in order of their basicity, and the deposition is not dependent upon the... 

Nd2Ni04+5 powder was prepared by nitrate-citrate route as described by Courty, et a1. (1973). Stoichiometric amounts of neodymium and nickel oxides were dissolved in diluted nitric acid. After addition of a large excess of citric acid, the solution was dehydrated and heated until self-combustion of the precipitate to obtain submicronic precursor particles (Boehm, 2005). The final annealing was performed at 1000°C for 12 hours to obtain a single crystalline phase. The particles were then ball milled to obtain an average grain size (d0 5) of about 0.8 pm. A terpineol-based slurry was prepared from this powder and this was deposited on the electrolyte by screen printing and then sintered at 1100°C for three hours in air (Lalanne, 2008). 

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