Electrochemical reduction of TiO2 powders in molten calcium chloride

Electrochemical reduction behaviour of TiO2 powder samples, sintered at 1423 K and 1673 K and weighing ∼ 1.5 g and ∼ 10 g, was studied by constant voltage electrolysis at 3.1 V at 1173 K. Both the samples were found to undergo reduction, but the low-temperature sintered and low-mass samples showed better overall reduction than the high-temperature sintered and high-mass samples. The reduction of the bulk parts of the samples became difficult as the sample size was increased from 1.5 g to 10 g. The size and location of the TiO2 particles in the powder electrode played an important role in the reduction of the oxide to the metal.