Electrochemical properties and extraction of Dy on liquid Sn electrode in LiCl-KCl molten salt

To extract dysprosium (Dy) from LiCl-KCl molten salt, the electrochemical properties of Dy on liquid Sn electrode were explored by various electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry (CP), and coulometric titration (CT). The Dy-Sn solid solution ((Dy-Sn)(solution)) was formed when the Dy was deposited on liquid Sn. The electrode process is a reversible reaction controlled by diffusion, and the diffusion coefficient of Dy(III) in LiCl-KCl molten salt was measured in the order of 10(-5) cm(2) s(-1). CT and CP were used to assess the solubility and diffusion coefficient of Dy in liquid Sn, respectively. Meanwhile, the co-deposition of Dy(III) and Sn(II) was analyzed by CV and square wave voltammetry (SWV) to obtain the Dy-Sn intermetallic compounds, and four electrochemical signals related to Dy-Sn intermetallic compounds were observed. In addition, the feasibility of extracting Dy using liquid Sn electrode was verified by galvanostatic electrolysis (GE) and potentiostatic electrolysis (PE), and the products were characterized by XRD and SEM-EDS. The Dy-Sn alloys prepared by PE and GE consisted of DySn2 and (DySn3 + DySn2), respectively.

Automated summary

The electrochemical properties of Dy on liquid Sn electrode in LiCl-KCl molten salt were studied using various electrochemical methods. The formation of Dy-Sn solid solution ((Dy-Sn)(solution)) was observed when Dy was deposited on liquid Sn. The electrode process was reversible and diffusion-controlled, with a diffusion coefficient of Dy(III) in LiCl-KCl molten salt measured at 10(-5) cm(2) s(-1). The solubility and diffusion coefficient of Dy in liquid Sn were assessed using coulometric titration (CT) and chronopotentiometry (CP), respectively. The co-deposition of Dy(III) and Sn(II) was analyzed, and four electrochemical signals related to Dy-Sn intermetallic compounds were observed. Galvanostatic electrolysis (GE) and potentiostatic electrolysis (PE) confirmed the feasibility of extracting Dy using liquid Sn electrode, with products characterized as DySn2 and (DySn3 + DySn2) by XRD and SEM-EDS.