Dysprosium (Dy): NdFeB Magnet Additive, Magneto-Optic Storage Material, Neutron Absorber, Terfenol-D Alloy Component

Dysprosium (Dy) is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It has a melting point of 1412°C, boiling point of 2562°C, and density of 8.55g/cm3. It exhibits superconductivity near absolute zero. Dysprosium is relatively stable in air but readily oxidizes at high temperatures when exposed to air or water, forming dysprosium oxide.

Applications

1. Used as an additive in neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets.
2. Can be used as magneto-optical storage material.
3. Due to its large neutron capture cross-section, it is used in the nuclear industry for neutron spectrum measurement or as a neutron absorber.
4. Essential raw material for preparing Terfenol-D (Tb-Dy-Fe) giant magnetostrictive alloys.

Product Series

Health and Safety Information

Packaging Specifications

• Standard packaging: 50 kg/drum, 500 kg/pallet, ton bags
• Sample packaging: 500 g/bag, 1 kg/bottle

About Dysprosium
After separating dysprosium from other rare earth elements via ion exchange or solvent extraction techniques, the metal can be prepared by metallothermic reduction. Lithium thermal reduction of rare earth chlorides differs from calcium thermal reduction in that the former occurs in the vapor phase.

The lithium thermal reduction reactor consists of two heating zones, with both reduction and distillation processes occurring in the same equipment. Anhydrous dysprosium chloride (DyCl3) is placed in the upper titanium crucible (which also serves as the DyCl3 distillation chamber), while the reducing agent, lithium metal, is placed in the lower crucible. The stainless steel reaction vessel is then evacuated to 7Pa before heating begins.

When the temperature reaches 1000°C, it is maintained for a specific duration to allow thorough reaction between DyCl3 vapor and lithium vapor. The reduced dysprosium metal solid particles collect in the lower crucible. After completing the reduction reaction, only the lower crucible is heated to distill LiCl into the upper crucible. The entire reduction process typically takes about 10 hours.

To obtain higher purity dysprosium metal, 99.97% high-purity lithium is used as the reducing agent along with twice-distilled anhydrous DyCl3.