Original Article

Fundamental research for metallic Yb preparation vacuum aluminothermic reduction of Yb₂O₃

¹ School of Metallurgical Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, Shaanxi, PR China
² School of Materials and Metallurgy, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, Inner Mongolia, PR China

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Received: 9 December 2025
Accepted: 26 June 2026

Abstract

In this work, the feasibility of substituting aluminum (Al) for lanthanum (La) as the reductant in metallic ytterbium (Yb) preparation was suggested and studied. Based on the thermodynamic research framework of the lanthanothermic reduction system, basic thermodynamic analysis was conducted while designing and implementing a three-factor orthogonal experiment with reaction temperature, excess coefficient of reductant, and reaction time as variables to determine the optimal experimental conditions. Experimental results indicated that the average Yb yield rate using metallic Al was 52.07%, with the intermediate phase Yb₃Al₅O₁₂ predominantly forming in the reduction solid residue. Based on the experimental results, the formation pathway of the intermediate phases was discussed, and it was concluded that the low recovery rate is partly due to the consumption of unreacted Yb₂O₃ by the formation of these intermediate phases. Based on these findings, a process is proposed utilizing a lanthanum–aluminum (La–Al) alloy as the reductant to modulate the composition of the reduction residue, which has undergone preliminary validation. The results demonstrate that when the reaction temperature exceeds the melting point of the La–Al alloy, the yield of Yb surpasses 90%, the product purity exceeds 99.99%, and the primary phase in the reduction residue transitions to LaAlO₃. This study focuses on the preparation process of rare earth metals and provides a new perspective on optimizing the process through reductant selection.