Rare earth metals — the lanthanides, yttrium and scandium — define the properties of many modern materials. Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium are needed for powerful NdFeB permanent magnets, samarium for heat-resistant SmCo magnets, lanthanum and cerium for catalysts, batteries and optical glass, europium, terbium and yttrium for phosphors, erbium, ytterbium and thulium for lasers and optical fibre.
How to order
Rare earth metals are supplied as ingots, lumps, foil and targets with a purity from 99.5 to 99.99% and higher. Supply is to order: state the metal, purity, form, weight and packing requirements. These metals oxidise easily, so they are shipped in sealed packs under argon or in oil.
Each batch comes with a certificate of analysis showing the main metal and impurity content.