Homogenous ZrCxOy powders have been successfully synthesized by in-situ electro-reduction of solid ZrO2-C composite precursors in molten CaCl2. The effect of applied cell voltage and molar ratio of ZrO2 to C on preparation of ZrCxOy were investigated. The reduction pathway of the composite electrode was studied based on the analysis of intermediate products using Xray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that ZrO2 is firstly converted to CaZrO3. The resulting CaZrO3 is then reduced to ZrCxOy. The ZrCxOy formation is dramatically influenced by electrolysis voltage and molar ratio of ZrO2 to C: a higher cell voltage and lower molar ratio of the ZrO2 to C are more preferable for the formation of ZrCxOy powder. Homogenous ZrCxOy powders with particle size of ~100 nm are synthesized by ZrO2 /C starting elemental powders in CaCl2 molten salt at 1123 K for more than 3 h, when the cell voltage is 3.0 V and the molar ratio of the ZrO2 to carbon starting materials is 1:1.0.
Indium is a strategically scarce metal with excellent conductivity and light transmittance that is widely used to prepare ITO targets. In this work, an electrolysis method was exploited to recover and reuse spent ITO (s-ITO) targets to provide a novel way to recycle valuable resources. The electrochemical behaviors of indium tin oxide were studied first by cyclic voltammetry in CaCl2 at 850℃. A reduction peak corresponding to the simultaneous reduction of indium tin oxide was found at −0.5 V vs. Pt. Then, indium-tin alloy was recovered by electrolysis of s-ITO particles in CaCl2 at −2.8 V and 850℃. The mass ratio of In and Sn in the alloy obtained by electrolysis is almost the same as that in the initial s-ITO before electrolysis. In addition, oxide composite powders were obtained by electrolysis of the alloy in NH4Cl aqueous solution, which can be used to synthesize ITO targets. The particle size of the composite powders was between 20 nm and 60 nm, and the distribution of each element was uniform.
Homogenous ZrCxOy powders have been successfully synthesized by in-situ electro-reduction of solid ZrO2-C composite precursors in molten CaCl2. The effect of applied cell voltage and molar ratio of ZrO2 to C on preparation of ZrCxOy were investigated. The reduction pathway of the composite electrode was studied based on the analysis of intermediate products using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that ZrO2 is firstly converted to CaZrO3. The resulting CaZrO3 is then reduced to ZrCxOy. The ZrCxOy formation is dramatically influenced by electrolysis voltage and molar ratio of ZrO2 to C: a higher cell voltage and lower molar ratio of the ZrO2 to C are more preferable for the formation of ZrCxOy powder. Homogenous ZrCxOy powders with particle size of ~100 nm are synthesized by ZrO2 /C starting elemental powders in CaCl2 molten salt at 1123 K for more than 3 h, when the cell voltage is 3.0 V and the molar ratio of the ZrO2 to carbon starting materials is 1:1.0.
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