ATL>Stepwise chlorination–chemical vapor transport reaction for rare earth oxide mixtures Gd2O3–Tb4O7, Tb4O7–Dy2O3 and ...

Stepwise chlorination–chemical vapor transport (SC–CVT) reaction has been investigated for the rare earth oxide mixtures Gd2O3–Tb4O7, Tb4O7–Dy2O3 and Dy2O3–Ho2O3 mediated by vapor complexes LnAlnCl3n+3 (where Ln=rare earth elements). The results show selective deposition of lighter elements at higher temperatures. The separation factors are 5.84 for Gd/Tb, 3.72 for Tb/Dy and 3.13 for Ho/Dy when using CO as the CVT carrier gas. A combination of enhanced separation factor with reduced total transport yield is also observed for the Tb4O7–Dy2O3 system when using argon as the CVT carrier gas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]