The properties and uses of cerium oxide

Overview of cerium oxide

Cerium oxide is an inorganic substance with a chemical formula of CeO2, a light yellow or yellow-brown auxiliary powder. Density 7.13g/cm3, melting point 2397℃, insoluble in water and alkali, slightly soluble in acid. At a temperature of 2000℃ and a pressure of 15MPa, cerium oxide can be obtained by reducing cerium oxide with hydrogen. When the temperature is released between 2000℃ and the pressure is released at 5MPa, the cerium oxide is slightly yellow, reddish, and pink. Its performance It is used for polishing materials, catalysts, catalyst carriers (auxiliary agents), ultraviolet absorbers, fuel cell electrolytes, automobile exhaust absorbers, electronic ceramics, etc.

The properties of cerium oxide

The pure product is white heavy powder or cubic crystal, while the impure product is light yellow or even pink to reddish brown (because it contains trace amounts of lanthanum, praseodymium, etc.). Almost insoluble in water and acid. The relative density is 7.3. Melting point: 1950°C, boiling point: 3500°C. Toxic, the median lethal dose (rat, oral) is about 1g/kg.

Application of cerium oxide

Oxidant. Catalyst for organic reactions. Steel analysis is used as a standard sample of rare earth metals. Redox titration analysis. Decolorized glass. Glass enamel sunscreen. Heat-resistant alloy.

Used as an additive in the glass industry, as an abrasive material for plate glass, and can also be used in cosmetics to play an anti-ultraviolet effect. It has been extended to the grinding of spectacle glass, optical lenses, and picture tubes, which plays a role in decolorization, clarification, and absorption of ultraviolet rays and electron rays in the glass.

Rare earth effect

Rare earth polishing effect

Rare earth polishing powder has the advantages of fast polishing speed, high smoothness and long service life. Compared with traditional polishing powder-iron red powder, it does not pollute the environment and is easy to remove from contaminated objects. Polishing the lens with cerium oxide polishing powder requires 30 to 60 minutes to complete the work in one minute, such as using iron oxide polishing powder. Therefore, rare earth polishing powder has the advantages of low dosage, fast polishing speed and high polishing efficiency. And it can change the polishing quality and operating environment. Generally, rare earth glass polishing powder mainly uses cerium-rich oxide. The reason why cerium oxide is an extremely effective polishing compound is that it can simultaneously polish glass in two forms: chemical decomposition and mechanical friction. Rare earth cerium polishing powder is widely used in the polishing of cameras, camera lenses, television picture tubes, spectacle lenses, etc. There are dozens of rare earth polishing powder factories in my country, and more than ten with a production scale of hundreds of tons. Sino-foreign joint venture Baotou Tianjiao Qingmei Rare Earth Polishing Powder Co., Ltd. is one of the largest rare earth polishing powder factories in my country, with an annual production capacity of 1,200 tons, and its products are sold at home and abroad.

Glass bleaching

All glass contains iron oxide, which can be brought into the glass through raw materials, sand, limestone and broken glass in glass ingredients. There are two forms of existence: one is divalent iron that makes the glass color dark blue, and the other This kind of trivalent iron makes the color of glass yellow. Decolorization is to oxidize the ferrous ion to ferric iron, because the intensity of the hue of ferric iron is only one-tenth of that of ferrous iron. Then add a color supplement to neutralize the color to a light green.

The rare earth elements used for glass decolorization are mainly cerium oxide and neodymium oxide. The rare earth glass decolorizer replaces the traditional white arsenic decolorizer, which not only improves the efficiency, but also avoids the pollution of the white arsenic. Cerium oxide used for glass decolorization has the advantages of stable high temperature performance, low price and no visible light absorption.

Glass staining

Rare earth ions have stable and bright colors at high temperatures and are used to mix into the material liquid to make glass of various colors. Rare earth oxides such as neodymium, praseodymium, erbium, and cerium are all excellent glass colorants. When the transparent glass with rare earth colorants absorbs visible light with a wavelength of 400 to 700 nanometers, it presents a beautiful color. These colored glasses can be used to make pilot lights for aviation, navigation, various vehicles, and various high-end art decorations.

Neodymium oxide is added to soda-lime glass and lead glass. The color of the glass depends on the thickness of the glass, the content of neodymium, and the strength of the light source. Thin glass is light pink, and thick glass is blue-violet. This phenomenon is called neodymium. Two-color; praseodymium oxide produces a green color similar to chromium; erbium oxide is used in photochromic glass and crystal glass to be pink; cerium oxide and titanium dioxide are used in combination to make the glass yellow; praseodymium oxide and neodymium oxide can be used Pr neodymium black glass. 

Rare earth clarifier

Using cerium oxide instead of traditional arsenic oxide as a glass clarifier to remove bubbles and trace colored elements. The effect is significant when preparing colorless glass bottles. The finished product has a bright white, good transparency, and improved glass strength and heat resistance. At the same time, it also eliminates the pollution of arsenic to the environment and glass. 

In addition, cerium oxide added to daily glass, such as architectural and automotive glass, crystal glass, can reduce the transmittance of ultraviolet rays, and this use has been promoted in Japan and the United States. With the improvement of the quality of life in our country, there will be a better market. Neodymium oxide is added to the glass bulb of the picture tube to eliminate the dispersion of red light and increase the clarity. Special glasses with rare earths added include: lanthanum glass has high refraction and low dispersion characteristics, and is widely used in the manufacture of various lenses and advanced cameras, camera lenses, especially lenses for high-altitude photography devices; cerium anti-radiation glass, used in automotive glass and TV Glass bulb: Neodymium glass is used as a laser material and is the most ideal material for giant lasers. It is mainly used in controlled nuclear fusion devices.

The price of cerium oxide

The price of cerium oxide will vary randomly with the production cost, transportation cost, international situation, and market supply and demand of cerium oxide. Tanki New Materials Co.,Ltd aims to help all industries and chemical wholesalers find high-quality, low-cost nanomaterials and chemicals by providing a full set of customized services. If you are looking for cerium oxide, please feel free to send an inquiry to get the latest price of cerium oxide.

Cerium Oxide Supplier

As a global lithium sulfide supplier, Tanki New Materials Co.,Ltd has extensive experience in the performance, application and cost-effective manufacturing of advanced and engineered materials. The company has successfully developed a series of powder materials (cerium oxide, zinc oxide, oxide Nickel), high-purity targets, functional ceramics and structural devices, and provide OEM services.