Technique for preparing ultrafine nanocrystalline bulk material of pure rare-earth metals

Ultrafine nanocrystalline bulk material of pure rare-earth metals has been prepared using a combination of inert gas condensation and spark plasma sintering (see figure). Some of the bulk properties such as the microhardness and specific heat capacity are remarkably improved compared to the conventional polycrystalline material. This new preparation technique enables the preparation and study of a variety of other nanostructured metal materials.