1. Laboratory Research and Chemical Synthesis

• Strong alkaline reagent: Used as a strong base catalyst or reactant in organic synthesis for reactions such as dehydrohalogenation and hydrolysis.

• Rubidium salt preparation: An important precursor for the preparation of other rubidium compounds (such as rubidium carbonate, rubidium nitrate, and metallic rubidium).

• Analytical chemistry: Used as a standard solution to standardize acidic substances.

2. Specialty Glass and Ceramics Industry

• Additive: Used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics with special optical properties (such as high refractive index, low dispersion) or electrical properties (such as conductive glass).

• Flux: Can lower the melting temperature of glass and improve processing performance.

3. Electronics and Optoelectronics

• Piezoelectric materials: Used in the manufacture of certain complex oxide piezoelectric crystals such as rubidium niobate and rubidium tantalate.

• Photocathode materials: Used in devices such as photomultiplier tubes and night vision equipment to prepare photoemissive materials with low work function (such as rubidium-containing antimonides and gallides).

4. Energy Sector

• Alkaline fuel cell (AFC) electrolyte: Can be used as an alternative or supplementary component to potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte in alkaline fuel cells to improve performance.

• Thermochemical hydrogen production: Rubidium hydroxide is an important intermediate in some research on thermochemical decomposition cycles for hydrogen production using rubidium compounds (such as rubidium sulfate).

5. Aerospace and Vacuum Technology

• Ion thruster propellant: In electric propulsion systems, rubidium (which can be prepared from rubidium hydroxide) has been studied as a propellant for ion engines (xenon is currently more commonly used).

• Getter: Used in vacuum tubes and other devices to absorb residual gases and maintain a high vacuum.

6. Medical and Biological Research (Exploratory Applications)

• Radionuclide carrier: Rubidium-82 (a positron emitter) is used in positron emission tomography (PET) cardiac perfusion imaging, but rubidium-82 chloride injection is usually used, and rubidium hydroxide is a chemical intermediate in the preparation process. • Basic biological research: Rubidium ions (Rb⁺) are often used as a substitute for potassium ions (K⁺) to study ion channels and transport mechanisms in cell membranes; rubidium hydroxide is one source of Rb⁺.