Rare earth elements as critical raw materials: Focus on international markets and future strategies

Doping with metals and non-metals is a popular technique that facilitates visible light activity of titanium dioxide. More recently, rare-earth metals have shown tremendous potential as dopants not only in red-shifting the absorption but also in improving the photocatalysis of TiO2. This feature article discusses recent developments in making TiO2 visible-light active through single and co-doping with rare earth metals. An emphasis is placed on wet chemical techniques and their associated effects on the phase, adsorption, surface area, and photocatalytic activity of TiO2. New techniques, such as electrospinning, magnetron sputtering, co-precipitation, and complexation, as well as the use of nanotubes and physical support are also discussed.

Recent advances in making nano-sized TiO2 visible-light active through rare-earth metal doping

Materials for downconversion in solar cells: Perspectives and challenges

Rare Earth Oxides are used in mature markets (such as catalysts, glassmaking and metallurgy), which account for 59% of the total worldwide consumption of rare earth elements, and in newer, high-growth markets (such as battery alloys, ceramics, and permanent magnets), which account for 41% of the total worldwide consumption of rare earth elements. China currently controls completely the mining activity, the enrichment technologies and metallurgy, and end-metal products of rare earths, resulting for both Europe and the U.S.A. in full industrial dependency. Due to high demand and limited availability of rare earth elements (REEs), Europe is unable to meet its industrial needs today for the manufacturing sector. Therefore the EU has included them in the group of 14 critical minerals. The balance of demand and supply in the world market of Rare Earth Metals was always rather unstable. The most significant increase of prices took place during the years 2009-2011, followed by a sudden and substantial fall in prices due mainly to the actual, persistent heavy economic crisis of the industrialized countries. The EU, in order to limit the dependency of REE imports, would have to employ alternative measures to secure REE supply security by adopting an admixture of trade policies, industrial adjustment and innovation and budget allocations in the member states.

Rare Earth Elements: Industrial Applications and Economic Dependency of Europe☆

The effect of alloy composition on the microstructure and tensile properties of binary Mg-rare earth alloys

On the basis of publications of recent years, the contemporary state of the world market of rare-earth metals is reviewed, periods of its development are considered, and prospects are shown.

A. V. Naumov

Papers

Review of the World Market of Rare-Earth Metals