Amorphous Neodymium carbonate was prepared by the precipitation reaction of neodymium chloride with ammonium bicarbonate in solution, and then aged at 60 ℃ to form crystalline neodymium carbonate. The feed molar ratio of nNH4HCO3/nNdCl3 was 2.5, and the precipitation was carried out with or without addition of polyglyceryl fatty acid ester (PGFAE). The phase type and morphology of crystalline neodymium carbonates were examined by XRD and SEM, and the effect of PGFAE on the crystallization speed was investigated by volume change in deposit layer and in situ pH determination. The content of neodymium and chloride in crystals was analyzed, and the crystallization reaction or crystal growth characteristics were discussed. It was found that all the crystalline neodymium carbonates were tengerite type, and contained less crystalline water and chloride than that of lanthanite type neodymium carbonate crystallized at room temperature, which is beneficial to the production of neodymium carbonate with higher neodymium and lower chloride content. The addition of PGFAE not only could eliminate the foam formed during precipitation, but also could shorten crystallization time, and form large radiative-like shape conglomeration by the irregulative linkage of one dimension needle crystals. It is also suggested that the morphology and the chloride content of neodymium carbonate were dependent on the structure and crystal growth characteristics.
