Tag Archives: Metals

Has China halted the export of rare earth metals?

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The Chinese government has long been exerting control over the export of rare earths, a group of metals crucial for products like semiconductors and light. In the ongoing trade war with the US, China is taking further steps to restrict the market for these metals, potentially impacting American manufacturing and military capabilities. So, why are rare earths so important?

Rare earths consist of 17 types of metals across the periodic table, essential for various industries such as technology, energy, and transportation. Names like terbium, praseodymium, and dysprosium are important ingredients in advanced technologies.

These metals can be categorized into heavy and light rare earths, with heavy ones being rarer and selling in smaller quantities. Light rare earths like neodymium and praseodymium are crucial for creating magnets.

Rare earths have diverse applications, from semiconductor chips powering AI to electric vehicle motors and military equipment. They also enhance heat resistance in products like magnets, glass, lights, and batteries, making them valuable for industries.

Some rare earths possess unique chemical properties that make them ideal for producing high-quality magnets, glass, lights, and batteries. Magnets made from rare earths are exceptionally powerful and essential for electric vehicles.

The US has only one operational rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, contributing about 15% to the global market. In the past, the US was a significant rare earth producer, but its production declined over the years compared to China.

Rare earths are mined from rock deposits, with China dominating nearly 70% of the market. China’s control over rare earths’ production and export has geopolitical implications, impacting various industries worldwide.

If China restricts rare earth exports, American sectors like automotive may face production halts. The US military could also be impacted, leading to shortages of essential equipment like drones and missiles. Tech giants like Nvidia and Apple could also feel the effects.

Many rare earth mining businesses in China have been under private or foreign ownership, but the government’s efforts to consolidate the industry could lead to complete control over manufacturing and exports.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Metals can be thinned to a few atoms thick

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Two layers of bismuth sandwiched between two layers of disulphide

Luo Jun Du

By crushing the molten droplets at a large pressure between two sapphires, a sheet of thick atoms of two thick atoms can be produced. Researchers who developed the process say that rare materials can use applications in industrial chemistry, optics, and computers.

Last year, scientists created a golden sheet Thick single atom which was called “Galden” after graphene, a material made from a single layer of carbon atoms. Such materials are described as 2D because they are chemically as thin as possible.

However, it has never been possible to make other 2D metals. New techniques developed by Luo Jun Du The Chinese Academy of Sciences and his colleagues can create two sheets of bismuth, gallium, indium, tin, and lead, which are as thin as atomic bonds allow.

To squeeze the metals, the researchers used two very flat sapphire crystals with a thin layer of disulfide in a bilayer (MOS2). They placed powdered metal between these jaws, heated to 400°C until they formed droplets, crushing them with a huge pressure of up to 200 megapascals. The metal was compressed until it cooled to just two atoms thick, or, in the case of bismuth. When the pressure was removed, the 2D metal was stuck between the MOS2. The seat then slipped out of the sapphire.

Du says the process was devised eight years ago, but the team dug up the recent fruit when MOS discovered it2. The layers remained the thin metal sheet stable. “The single layer of freestanding metal atoms is simply unstable from a thermodynamic perspective. Therefore, we [had to] We’re developing whole new techniques,” says Du. “The process seems simple, but it works.”

In addition to creating very thin layers of atoms, researchers were able to fine-tune the throttle pressure and create three, four, or more atoms with accuracy.

2D metals can have anomalous properties that help scientists explore macroscopic quantum phenomena and superconductivity, DU says, which could lead to ultra-low power transistors, clear computer displays, and highly efficient catalysts for chemical reactions.

One problem is MOS2 Encapsulating metal sheets is not easily removed. DU says this may be problematic in some applications, but the experiments suggest that it does not affect electrical conductivity, thus not hindering the 2D metal used in electronic devices.

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Source: www.newscientist.com