Study of rare earth elements behavior in confined solution

The goal of this proposal is to characterize the rare earth element behavior in single-digit nanoconfinement. For this, we will determine how rare earth elements in confined solutions interact with silica surfaces spaced of few nanometers and their transport mechanisms in nanochannels, as we have already done with XCln (n=1 and 2) solutions. To reach this goal, 2 and 3 nm nanochannels empty or already filled with water will be immersed in electrolyte solution of NdCl3, Nd(NO3)3, DyCl3 and Dy(NO3)3 at 1M at pH=6, placed in a special homemade experimental set-up and characterized during the first 48h and after 1, 3 and 6 months. Coupled to atomistic modelling, these results will give reliable information such as the electron density profiles and the ion distributions, enabling a better fundamental understanding of the ions and water transport in single-digit confinement.