Mechanistic study of solvent extraction of rare earths with sterically hindered alkyl phosphonic acids. KU Leuven
The rare-earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 chemically similar metallic elements (15 lanthanides, plus Sc and Y). Although REE minerals contain most of these elements simultaneously, high-tech and cleantech applications such as permanent magnets and lamp phosphors typically require only one specific, high-purity REE. To provide the individual REEs on an industrial scale, REE separation is performed by solvent extraction. Solvent ...