Purification Process and Characterization of Ultra High Purity Metals Application of Basic Science to Metallurgical Processing

Substantial enhancement of important properties of materials is manifested when impurity concentrations are reduced to extremely low levels. Current technologies are not fully adequate and the frontiers of our present knowledge of theory and practice need exploration. New concepts and methodologies are evolving and novel purification processes are beinb developed for producing ultra-high-purity metals with purpose-designed atomic patterns for sophisticated functional applications. This book gives a critical, up-to-date evaluation starting with an extended introductory treatise on the fundamentals, followed by a detailed description of the new methods of purification of transition metals and rare earth metals, including their characterization. The subject is approached both from the basic science and applied engineering points of view.

I Fundamentals and the Present Status of Purification of Metals.- 1 The Thermodynamics of Oxygen in Reactive Metals.- 2 Principles of Metal Purification and Purity Evaluation.- 3 The Purification of Base Transition Metals.- 4 Refractory Metals.- 5 Purification of the Rare Earth Metals.- II New Methods for Purification.- 6 Hydrogen Plasma Arc Melting.- 7 Ion-Beam Deposition.- 8 Purification and Isotope Separation by Laser Techniques.- III Characterization.- 9 Electrical Properties of Ultra-High-Purity Metals.- 10 Surfaces and Interfaces.- 11 Mechanical Properties.- 12 Atomic Defects in High-Purity Metals: Fundamentals and Equilibrium Concentrations.