Electrochemical and kinetic analysis of Ce recovery using Ga electrode in LiCl-KCl melt

Abstract

Electrode material is an obstacle to the application of molten salt electrolysis in Ce recovery. Liquid Ga is a potential candidate for the cathode, but the corresponding reaction process on the electrode in the melt has yet to be fully understood and systematically studied. Herein, the electrochemical reaction and the kinetics of recovering Ce using Ga electrodes were investigated by various electrochemical methods. A concentration-dependent test of the co-deposition reaction revealed the continuous alloying process of reduced Ce. The electrolytic reduction of Ce ions on liquid Ga was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The result shows that the reaction is controlled by diffusion. In addition, some important parameters such as exchange current density, activity coefficient and solubility were determined by pulsed electrolysis and coulomb titration, allowing a preliminary assessment of the electrolytic extraction of Ce on the Ga electrode.