J Mater Sci Technol ›› 2009, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (04): 459-461.

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Al Preparation from Solid Al2O3 by Direct Electrochemical Deoxidation in Molten CaCl2-NaCl at 550°C

Hongwei Xie1) , He Zhang1), Yuchun Zhai1)†, Jinxia Wang2), Chengde Li1)   

  1. 1) School of Materials and Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, China
    2) School of Science, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, China
  • Received:2008-10-21 Revised:2008-12-13 Online:2009-07-28 Published:2009-10-10
  • Contact: Yuchun Zhai
  • Supported by:

    the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant No. 50674026;

    the Postgraduate Foundation of Northeastern University in China under grant No. 18702016;
    the Innovational Experiment Plan of Undergraduate Student of China under grant No. 071014506

Abstract:

Al was prepared by a new method in molten salt at low temperature. Sintered alumina pellets were used as cathode; graphite rod was employed as anode; and the molten CaCl2-NaCl was the electrolyte. A constant 3.2 V voltage was applied in this experiment, and oxygen in solid alumina cathode was reduced by direct electrochemical deoxidation at 550°C. In this process, the current gradually decreased with increasing time and the alumina pellets became grey and porous. The metallic particles were obtained and characterized by XRD (X-ray diffraction) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy).

Key words: Aluminium, Alumina, Electrochemical deoxidation, Low temperature