Electrochemical synthesis of Ti5Si3 in CaCl2 melt

Ti5Si3 intermetallic compound was successfully prepared through electro-deoxidation in the molten calcium chloride at 900 °C. Constant voltage electro-deoxidation was conducted using a preformed TiO2/SiO2 cathode and a carbon anode. The product on the cathode was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results suggested that the electro-deoxidation reduction of TiO2/SiO2 composite was the following: TiO2 was firstly reduced to be suboxide (Ti2O3) and then into the Ti, SiO2 was converted to Si, then Si was reacted with Ti to form Ti5Si3.