Chemical Properties
pure material is a blue powder(s); technical material has a brown color; hygroscopic; absorbs atmospheric CO2; hexagonal; has slightly red fluorescence; used in ceramic capacitors, in coloring glass, and in television tubes, and as an evaporated material of 99.9% purity, it is possibly reactive to radio frequencies [HAW93] [MER06] [CER91]
Physical properties
Blue powder; hexagonal crystals; fluoresces red; density 7.24 g/cm3; melts around 1,900°C; practically insoluble in water, 30 mg/L at 75°C; dissolves in acids.
Production Methods
Neodymium oxide is produced from the two principal rare earth minerals, monazite, and bastnasite. The oxide is obtained as an intermediate in the recovery of neodymium metal (See Neodymium).
The oxide also may be formed by thermal dissociation of neodymium oxalate, hydroxide or carbonate:
Nd2(C2O4)3 → Nd2O3 + 6CO2
2Nd(OH)3 → Nd2O3 + 3H2O
Nd2(CO3)3 → Nd2O3 + 3CO2.
Flammability and Explosibility
Nonflammable
Toxicology
Neodymium oxide is belong to a rare earth metal. These metals are moderately to highly toxic. The symptoms of toxicity of the rare earth elements include writhing, ataxia, labored respiration, walking on toes with arched back and sedation.
Purification Methods
Dissolve it in HClO4, precipitate it as the oxalate with doubly recrystallised oxalic acid, wash it free of soluble impurities, dry it at room temperature and ignite it in a platinum crucible at higher than 850o in a stream of oxygen. It is a blue powder. [Tobias & Garrett J Am Chem Soc 80 3532 1958.]
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium#Neodymium_glass_for_other_applications
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium(III)_oxide
https://books.google.kg/books?id=KbZkxDyeG18C&pg=PA102&dq=%22Neodymium+oxide%22&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Neodymium%20oxide%22&f=false
