Innovative ideas in the design, re-use and re-fabrication of Rare Earth-based materials in the Context of Microelectronics and Renewable Energy

Metals, and in particular rare earth elements are important building blocks in the progress of our society toward a cleaner and safer environment, mainly in the development of new systems for microelectronics and renewable energy. The paper is an attempt to briefly present some innovative ideas on the efficient use of these materials in the context of their criticality. Two examples are discussed. The first is related the use of mixed rare earth oxides as dopants for the fabrication of mean temperature solid electrolytes for SOFCs with improved ionic conductivity. A second example is to use microwave energy to recycle WEEE and obtain materials ready to be used for additive manufacturing (3D printing) of permanent magnets based on NdFeB system.