Electrochemical investigation of lithium and tin reduction at a graphite cathode in molten chlorides

Electrodeposition of metals from non-aqueous solutions

“…The electrochemical reduction behavior of lithium at a graphite electrode in a molten lithium chloride and a molten mixture of lithium chloride and tin(II) chloride was examined at 625 • C. Lithium intercalation into graphite had occurred before deposition of metallic lithium started [98]. The behavior of Li + was studied at the inert and active electrodes in the molten LiCl-KCl eutectic.…”

“…The electrochemical reduction behavior of tin at the graphite electrode in a molten lithium chloride and a molten mixture of lithium chloride and tin(II) chloride was examined at 625 • C. During cathodic polarization the deposition of metallic tin from the chloride mixture onto the graphite surface occurred, while no intercalation of tin into the graphite bulk took place. The reduction of tin at the graphite electrode did not lead to the formation of significant amounts of nano-sized materials [98]. The electrochemical deposition of aluminum and lead from the basic molten AlCl 3 -NaCl-KCl mixture on an aluminum electrode at 180 • C was studied by voltammetry, as well as the potential and current transient and constant current deposition.…”

The preparation of nano-structured carbon materials by electrolysis of molten lithium chloride at graphite electrodes

“…This consisted of a molybdenum wire of 0.5 mm in diameter positioned inside an open-ended alumina sheath. The correct functioning of this type of quasi-reference electrode in lithium chloride melts had been demonstrated in earlier work [15,16].…”

“…The onset potential of this reaction is significantly lower than the thermodynamic decomposition potential of lithium chloride. This is a consequence of the chemical interaction between lithium and carbon during intercalation which allows the lithium to be reduced at activities below unity [15,16].…”

“…It was realised that the cathodic reaction involves the intercalation of the alkali metal into the graphite electrode and the destabilisation of the layered graphite microstructure, which instigates the formation of carbon-based nano-structured species [13,14]. A series of fundamental studies into the underlying reaction steps were performed [15,16], first steps toward the design of a scaled-up cell were reported [17], and a systematic study into the application of sodium chloride as the molten salt electrolyte was carried out showing that tubes may constitute up to 25% of the carbonaceous product [18]. Chen and Fray furthermore provided a very comprehensive review covering the research activities up to the year 2003 [19].…”