--Luminescent materials for displays: yttrium and europium in rare earth elements are the main raw materials for red phosphor, which is widely used in color TVs, computers and various displays. At present, China's annual output of color TV red powder 300-400 tons, computer monitor red powder 50-100 tons to meet the domestic demand for 35 million color display tubes and nearly a million monitors.
--Magnetic materials: neodymium, samarium, praseodymium, dysprosium, etc. is the main raw material for the manufacture of modern super-permanent magnetic materials, whose magnetism is 4-10 times higher than that of ordinary permanent magnetic materials, which are widely used in high-tech fields such as television, electro-acoustic, medical equipment, magnetic levitation trains and military industry. According to expert forecasts, the end of this century, the output value of such materials will reach 3.5 billion U.S. dollars. The city's Nankai University research and development with independent intellectual property rights of neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet materials belong to this kind, is now working with the Kenda Group for industrialization.
--Hydrogen storage materials: rare earths and transition elements of intermetallic compounds MMNi5 (MM for mixed rare earth metals) and LaNi5 is an excellent hydrogen-absorbing materials, known as hydrogen sponge. Its most successful application is in the manufacture of secondary batteries - metal hydride batteries, i.e. nickel-metal hydride batteries. Its equal volume charging capacity is now widely used nickel-cadmium batteries 2 times, charge and discharge cycle life and output voltage and nickel-cadmium batteries, but without the cadmium pollution. The city's Nankai University has a great advantage in the research and development of hydrogen storage materials, through the 863 project, the Peace Bay Company has begun the industrialization of nickel-metal hydride batteries.
--Laser materials: rare earth ions are the most important activator of solid laser materials and inorganic liquid laser materials, including Nd3+-doped laser materials have been studied the most, in addition to yttrium-aluminum garnet (YAG), yttrium aluminum aluminate (YAP) glass and other matrices, high-rare-earth concentration of laser materials may be known as a special application of the of the material.
--Precision ceramics: yttrium oxide partially stabilized oxide picks are very good performance of structural ceramics, can make a variety of special-purpose knives and scissors; can be made of automobile engines, because of its high thermal conductivity, low coefficient of expansion, thermal stability performance, in 1 650 ℃ under the working strength does not decrease, resulting in engine horsepower, Fuel saving and other advantages.
--Catalysts: rare earths in addition to the manufacture of oil cracking catalysts, widely used in many chemical reactions, such as rare earth oxides LaO3, Nd2O3 and Sm2O3 for cyclohexane dehydrogenation of benzene, LnCoO3 instead of platinum-catalyzed oxidation of ammonia to nitric acid. And as a catalyst in the production of synthetic isoprene rubber and cis-butadiene rubber.
Automobile exhaust gas needs to oxidize CH and CO and reduce NOX to solve the current urban air pollution problem. Rare earth elements are the main raw materials for automobile exhaust purification catalysts. The city's Chemical Research Institute has a strong advantage in this area, which can promote the formation of a car exhaust purifier products.
--High-temperature superconducting materials: research in recent years has shown that many single rare earth oxides and some of its mixed rare earth oxides are important raw materials for high-temperature superconducting materials. Once the high-temperature superconducting materials into practical, the whole world will be a sea change. At present, China has made meaningful breakthroughs in the research of rare earth superconducting materials into materials.