Superconducting Nb3Sn intermetallics made by electrochemical reduction of Nb2O5–SnO2 oxides

Fray, Derek J.; Yan, X. Y.

doi:10.1016/s0921-4534(03)00679-8

Cited by 37 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…[12] The recent demonstration of electrochemical reduction of solid metal oxides in molten salts promises a novel generic technology for not only the extraction of reactive metals such as titanium and chromium, [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] but also the synthesis of many functional alloys, intermetallics and inorganic materials. [21][22][23][24][25][26] Some fundamental aspects of the process have also been studied. [15][16][17][18][19][20][24][25][26][27][28][29] Aiming to address the urgent resource and commercial challenges for the development of hydrogen technology, we have investigated the electroreduction of both natural and synthetic ilmenite to give various hydrogen-storage ferrotitanium alloy powders in molten calcium chloride.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Direct Electrochemical Route from Ilmenite to Hydrogen‐Storage Ferrotitanium Alloys

Wang

et al. 2006

Chemistry A European J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An unrecognised but predictable need for a hydrogen-supported society is tens or even hundreds of million tonnes of hydrogen-storage materials, and thus challenges existing technologies in terms of resource and economical realities. Ilmenite is an abundant mineral, and ferrotitanium alloys are among the earliest known hydrogen-storage materials. At present, industrial production of ferrotitanium alloys goes through separate extraction of individual metals, followed by a multistep arc-melting process. In particular, the extraction of titanium from ilmenite is highly energy intensive and tedious, accounting for titanium's high market price and restricted uses. This article reports the electrochemical synthesis of various ferrotitanium alloy powders directly from solid ilmenite in molten calcium chloride. More importantly, it demonstrates, for the first time, that such produced alloy powders can be used without further treatment for hydrogen storage and perform comparably with or better than similar products by means of other methods, but cost just a fraction.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Direct Electrochemical Route from Ilmenite to Hydrogen‐Storage Ferrotitanium Alloys

Wang

et al. 2006

Chemistry A European J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is much shorter in process and reduces significantly the energy consumption and environmental impact, thus offering an opportunity to greatly lower the cost for metal extraction. Its particular advantage lies in the manufacturing of low cost alloys and intermetallics directly from mixed oxide precursors, and reports have already appeared in the literature for the preparation of Nb 3 Sn [18] and NiMnGa [19] . However, research progress on the preparation of titanium alloys by electrolysis of mixed oxides is rarely reported, and very little is known about the relevant reduction mechanisms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrolytic reduction of mixed solid oxides in molten salts for energy efficient production of the TiNi alloy

Zhu

Wang

et al. 2006

CHINESE SCI BULL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Direct electrochemical reduction of mixed TiO 2 and NiO powders to TiNi alloy has been successfully demonstrated in molten CaCl 2 at 900℃ by constant voltage electrolysis. The electrolysis energy consumption was as low as 23.4 kWh/kg-TiNi, although the current efficiency was 20.5% in the preliminary experiments. During the process, NiO was first reduced to Ni at high speed, accompanied by TiO 2 being perovskitized to CaTiO 3−x which was gradually reduced to Ni 3 Ti and TiNi, assisted by the depolarization of the preformed Ni. The cell voltage for preparation of the TiNi alloy was lower than that for Ti. Adjusting the cell voltage not only affected the reduction speed, but also offered a convenient access to the preparation of the nickel/perovskite composite.Fast and energy efficient technologies for material production are essential for the sustainable development of human society. The TiNi alloy is an important intelligent material [1] , having high abrasive resistance, superior elasticity and good shape memory. It is usually prepared by either of two methods: high temperature melting of mixed pure metals [2] or powder metallurgy [3] ( Fig. 1(a)). Both methods require high vacuum conditions supported by special equipment, expensive pure titanium and nickel as the feed, and a large amount of energy input. Currently, titanium metal is produced by the Kroll process ( Fig. 1(a)) which is a high temperature and batch method, involving complicated multistep operations and high energy consumption (~50 kWh/kg-Ti). The process uses the toxic chlorine, although the by-product magnesium chloride may be recycled through molten salt electrolysis. The production of nickel metal also involves electrolysis and is challenged by serious sulfuric acid pollution, leading to high energy consumption (8-10 kg Ce/kg Ni). Although titanium and its alloys have excellent material properties and are abundant in resource (titanium is the ninth most abundant element in the earth's crust), the high cost of production constrains directly its wider applications. Consequently, a novel production approach with low cost and low environmental impact is highly desirable.In 2000, Chen et al. [4] reported a new process in which titanium can be produced by direct electrochemical reduction of solid titania in molten salts. This new process, which is called the FFC Cambridge Process and has attracted international attention [5][6][7][8] , has also been successfully used for preparation of other metals [9][10][11][12][13][14] . In this laboratory, research has been carried out to increase the speed of the reduction of titania [15] , to reduce the insulator silica for the extraction of pure silicon [16] , and to prepare, by electrolysis, the very active heavy rare earth metals that find much more resources in China [17] . In comparison with traditional methods, the new method deoxidizes solid metal oxide to the metal in one operational step. It is much shorter in process and reduces significantly the energy consumption and environmental impact, thus offeri...

show abstract

“…Recently the method of molten electrolysis of solid oxide has been applied in the preparation of functional materials, including superconducting materials (Nb 3 Sn [7,8]) and magnetic materials alloys (Ni 2 MnGa [19]). This method are highly attractive to many applications due to the costs, energy consumption and simplifying the process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparation of Titanium Alloys through Molten Salt Electrolysis of Solid Oxides for Medical Implants

Li¹,

Wu²,

Shi³

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Advanced Research and Technology in Industry (WARTIA 2017)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:A simple, cost-efficient, energy-saving, electrochemical process is developed to synthesize the biomedical Ti-based metal-containing Group VB (V, Nb, Ta) implant materials in the small size at 900 ºC. The anhydrous CaCl 2 and solid oxides were used as the salt melt medium and raw reactants, respectively. The mechanism of the reduction process was discussed by constant cell voltage electrolysis of different time periods. The as-prepared samples, such as Ti-12.5Zr-2.5Nb-2.5Ta, were characterized by SEM, EDX, elemental and biological analysis (including cell compatibility test, etc.). Because of the green synthesis, non-toxicity, and good biocompatibility, Ti-12.5Zr-2.5Nb-2.5Ta exhibited promise for medical implant materials.

show abstract

Superconducting Nb3Sn intermetallics made by electrochemical reduction of Nb2O5–SnO2 oxides

Cited by 37 publications

References 3 publications

A Direct Electrochemical Route from Ilmenite to Hydrogen‐Storage Ferrotitanium Alloys

A Direct Electrochemical Route from Ilmenite to Hydrogen‐Storage Ferrotitanium Alloys

Electrolytic reduction of mixed solid oxides in molten salts for energy efficient production of the TiNi alloy

Preparation of Titanium Alloys through Molten Salt Electrolysis of Solid Oxides for Medical Implants

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About