Preparation of Mg–Nd Alloys by Magnesiothermic Reduction in Molten Salt

A new approach that was designed to prepare Mg–Nd binary alloys via molten-salt-mediated magnesiothermic reduction by using Nd 2 O 3 and Mg metal as raw materials was presented. The overall approach was based on a chemical pathway that synergistically integrated a series of simple steps to produce Mg–Nd alloys that could meet the requirement of Nd content in commercial Nd-containing magnesium alloys. The key steps included preparation of NdCl 3 -containing molten salt, the reduction of NdCl 3 by Mg in molten salt, and the removal of MgCl 2 from molten salt. The results showed that this approach could indeed prepare Mg–(6 to 18) weight percent Nd binary alloys, and the remaining molten salt could be recycled after being treated with NdF 3 . When other parameters were fixed, the Nd content in alloy could be adjusted only by adjusting the concentration of NdCl 3 and MgCl 2 in molten salt. Besides, a decrease in temperature or an increase in the mass ratio of molten salt to Mg could further increase the Nd content in alloy when other conditions were fixed.