Electrochemical extraction of cerium from CeO2 assisted by AlCl3 in molten LiCl-KCl

This work concerns the co-reduction behaviors of Ce(III) with Al(III) ions and electrochemical extraction of cerium from cerium dioxide in molten LiCl-KCl at the temperature of 773K. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), chronopotentiometry (CP), and open circuit chronopotentiometry (OCP) techniques were employed to investigate the electrochemical behaviors of Ce(III) and Al(III) ions on molybdenum (Mo) electrode. The results revealed Ce(III) and Al(III) cations can be co-reduced at the surface of the Mo electrode by forming different kinds of Ce-Al alloys. Finally, potentiostatic electrolysis at different deposition potentials on Al plate electrodes was also performed to prepare Ce-Al alloys. The deposition products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). It was found that only one intermetallic compound (Al11Ce3) could be formed at the deposition potential of -1.6 V and two intermetallic compounds (Al11Ce3 and Al3Ce) could be formed at the potential of -1.9 V. When the deposition potential was negative than -2.1 V, cerium-rich alloy (AlCe) could be obtained on the surface of the Al electrode.