Abstract
Electrochemical behavior of Nd was studied in NaCl-KCl melt on W and Cu electrodes via cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. Generally, the reduction of Nd3+ takes place in two consecutive steps in molten chlorides, such as LiCl-CaCl2, LiCl-BaCl2, CaCl2-NaCl, LiCl-KCl melts. However, the reduction of Nd3+ ions was found to be through a one-step process: Nd3+ + 3e− → Nd. The co-reduction behavior of Nd3+ and Cu2+ ions and the mechanisms of alloy formation were investigated in NaCl-KCl melt on W electrodes at 988 K (715 °C). Four potential plateaus corresponding to four different kinds of Cu-Nd intermetallic compounds were detected. Cu-Nd alloys were prepared on Cu electrodes at 988 K (715 °C) and 1143 K (870 °C). At 988 K (715 °C), Cu5Nd phase was identified by X-ray diffraction. The morphology and micro-zone chemical analysis of the alloys were characterized by scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometry. The alloy film was observed on the Cu electrodes. Moreover, at 1143 K (870 °C), a globate bulk Cu-Nd alloy with Cu5Nd, Cu4Nd, Cu2Nd, CuNd, and Cu phases, as liquid in the melt, was obtained at the bottom of the crucible.
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Acknowledgments
The work was financially supported by the Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology (Harbin Engineering University), Ministry of Education, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91326113, 91226201, and 51574097), the Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (LC2016018), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (HEUCF2016012), the Foundation for University Key Teacher of Heilongjiang Province of China and Harbin Engineering University (1253G016 and HEUCFQ1415), and the Scientific Research and Special Foundation Heilongjiang Postdoctoral Science Foundation (LBH-Q15019, LBH-Q15020, and LBH-TZ0411).
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Manuscript submitted November 9, 2015.
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Zhang, ZL., Zhou, LZ., Ji, DB. et al. Electrochemical Extraction of Nd from NaCl-KCl Melt by Formation of Cu-Nd Alloys. Metall Mater Trans B 48, 2535–2542 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-017-1017-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-017-1017-6