Current Applications and Future Potential of Rare Earth Oxides in Sustainable Nuclear, Radiation, and Energy Devices: A Review

Abstract

To date, rare earth oxides (REOs) have proven to be key components in generating sustainable energy solutions, ensuring environmental safety and economic progress due to their diverse attributes. REOs' exceptional optical, thermodynamic, and chemical properties have made them indispensable in a variety of sophisticated technologies, including electric vehicle magnets, portable energy devices, fuel cell catalysts, radiation shielding, dosimetry, and many others. Therefore, the successful incorporation of rare earth elements (REEs) into host materials in controlled concentrations offers competitive advantages to fabricate portable energy devices, radiation sensors, and radiation shielding glasses, as well as to improve the performance of existing photovoltaic cells, which is of great interest to both researchers and industry. As the global demand for REEs grows rapidly, it is critical to comprehend the underlying physics as well as the wider consequences of REEs on sustainable energy and nuclear technologies, both in the near and long term. However, despite their relevance, a focused review on the applications, prospects, and challenges of REOs in photovoltaics, nuclear, and energy devices is still unavailable. To this effort, this review succinctly reports recent experimental studies on eight REOs (R 2 O 3 , R = Yb, Er, Sm, Eu, Y, Gd, Dy, and Ce) and their specific applications and industrial aspects. While several subdomains are reported, the applications of REOs in next-generation solar cells and photovoltaic devices for promoting zero-emission clean energy and rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) are the most pioneering ones. Furthermore, REOs' chemical stability and compositional versatility allow them to be used in a variety of high-efficiency energy converters, including solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). From the perspective of thermodynamic and structural stability, the gamma and neutron absorptivity of REO-doped (such as Dy 3+ , Eu 3+ , Sm 3+ , Nd 3+ , etc.) glasses shows improved shielding performance in radiation domains. Aside from the applications, the prospects of REOs presented in this article are likely to encourage current and future scholars to pursue a wide range of important studies in the fields of energy and nuclear systems. This review also reports the key challenges (i.e., material degradation, phase transformation, magnetic entropy shift, etc.) associated with REOs in a standalone section. These challenges demand the immediate attention of scientists and engineers for efficient, costeffective, and environmentally sustainable solutions. At the end, future advancement pathways for REO applications are also suggested.

Effect of Various Electron and Hole Transport Layers on the Performance of CsPbI3-Based Perovskite Solar Cells: A Numerical Investigation in DFT, SCAPS-1D, and wxAMPS Frameworks

“…The 21st century is experiencing a massive demand for power, with a substantial amount of need being met by fossil fuels, which pollute the environment and cause the greenhouse effect. − A lot of research is being carried out to study the alternate, ecologically suitable energy-generating options, with the solar cell being the most popular and cost-effective option. − To address future industrial needs, current photovoltaic (PV) investigations are focusing on developing highly efficient devices at cheap manufacturing costs. Even though various studies focus on exceeding the current greatest practicable performance, the PV characteristics are still far below the maximum value. ,− Energy shortages and pollutions are the major barriers to the creation of a sustainable society .…”

A Review of Applications, Prospects, and Challenges of Proton-Conducting Zirconates in Electrochemical Hydrogen Devices

“…As a result of the Industrial Revolution and technological advancements, the globe requires alternative energy sources to supply the ever-increasing demand for energy [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. In addition, With the rapid depletion of fossil fuel resources and the negative impact of fossil fuel combustion on our environments [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], scientists have turned their attention to other renewable sources, such as electrochemical hydrogen devices based on proton-conducting materials [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Proton conductors typically have positively charged protonic species, such as H + , H 3 O + , and NH 4 + [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Origin of Negative Photoconductivity at the Interface of Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3/LaMnO3/Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 Heterostructures

“…The use of various oxides leads to progress in the development of modern electronic devices and new technologies. In this regard, we should specifically mention the oxides of rare earth elements which have been attracting attention for several decades, enabling the development of technologies in optical applications [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Promising fields of application for these oxides with various doping are laser technologies, optoelectronics, and fiber optic applications [ 1 ], which, in particular, are used in the development of modern quantum computers [ 4 ].…”

“…Promising fields of application for these oxides with various doping are laser technologies, optoelectronics, and fiber optic applications [ 1 ], which, in particular, are used in the development of modern quantum computers [ 4 ]. They are also widely used as sensors, detectors, and other electronic devices [ 2 ], as well as in sustainable nuclear, radiation, and energy devices [ 3 ]. However, creating complex heterostructures can lead to entirely new functional properties with the characteristics of the heterostructured material changing dramatically when one of its parts is acted upon.…”

“…Previously, the transition to the state with 2DEG at the interface, which is connected to a sharp change in the perpendicular component of the polarization at the interface, was demonstrated [ 22 , 23 , 24 ], and we detected the presence of a highly conductive state at the interface of a heterostructure based on a ferroelectric and a dielectric, Ba 0.8 Sr 0.2 TiO 3 /LaMnO 3 [ 22 ]. While optical, photoconductive, and other properties of rare earth oxides are well known [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], the optical and especially the photoconductive properties of the 2DEG on the interfaces of two insulating materials are not reported. Therefore, in this work, we study the conductivity of a heterostructure consisting of Ba 0.8 Sr 0.2 TiO 3 /LaMnO 3 /Ba 0.8 Sr 0.2 TiO 3 films deposited on a MgO substrate and the effect of illumination on the conductivity at the interface.…”