Electrosynthesis of gadolinium hexaboride nanotubes

To throw the light on a possibility of gadolinium boride electrochemical synthesis in chloride-fluoride melt, the NaCl-KCl (1:1)-NaF (10 wt%)-GdF3 (0.5-2.5 wt%)-KBF4 (0.5-3.0 wt%) molten system was investigated in the temperature range 973-1023 K. The nature of the separate and joint electrodeposition of the boride components was studied by means of linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry and steady-state voltammetry. For the first time in world scientific practice the gadolinium hexaboride nanotubes were synthesized.