What is scandium oxide

Scandium oxide, also known as 3 oxide 2 scandium, is a white solid with a cubic structure of rare earth sesquioxide, molecular structure is Sc2O3, melting point is 2403 degrees Celsius ± 20 degrees Celsius, insoluble in water, soluble in hot acid.

Elemental scandium is usually used in alloys, and scandium oxide also plays a crucial role in ceramic materials. For example, tetragonal zirconia ceramic materials, which can be used as electrode materials for solid oxide fuel cells, have a very unique The conductivity of this type of electrolyte will increase with the increase of the ambient temperature and the concentration of oxygen in the natural environment. However, the molecular structure of this type of ceramic material cannot exist smoothly by itself, and it does not have industrial production value; it must be mixed with it. Only by adding some substances that can determine this type of structure can the original characteristics be guaranteed.

In addition, silicon nitride is used as a densifier and stabilizer for engineering ceramic materials with high strength and high temperature resistance. As a densifier, scandium oxide can form a refractory phase Sc2Si2O7 on the edge of fine particles, thereby reducing the high temperature shape of engineering ceramics. Compared with adding other oxidizing substances, it can better improve the high-temperature mechanization properties of silicon nitride. Adding a little Sc2O3 to UO2 in high-temperature reactor fuel can prevent the transformation of UO2 to U3O8. The lattice change, the increase in size and the generation of cracks .

Scandium oxide is obtained from the decomposition of scandium salt when heated, and can be used as an evaporation material for semiconductor material coatings, and can also be made into wavelength-tunable solid-state lasers, high-definition television electron guns, metal halide lamps, etc.