Rare earth oxides are compounds composed of rare earth elements and oxygen elements. Rare earth elements include lanthanides and yttrium, which have atomic numbers from 57 to 71 in the periodic table, a total of 15 lanthanide oxides, and two elements, scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y). These oxides have unique chemical properties, rich in crystal and electronic structures, and exhibit good electrical, thermal, and chemical stability.
Rare earth oxides have a wide range of applications in many fields, including petroleum, chemical, metallurgy, textiles, ceramics, glass and permanent magnet materials. They can be used as catalysts, material additives, and in the manufacture of fluorescent, laser, and magnetic materials. The value of rare earth oxides has gradually increased with the progress of science and technology and the breakthrough of application technology, and it is expected that they will be more widely used in the fields of environmental management, new energy materials, catalysts, fluorescent materials, magnetic materials and biomedicine in the future.