Highly oriented (002) crystals zinc powder from recovery of zinc smelting slag

Abstract

As an important secondary resource, the recovery of zinc smelting slag into high value-added substances has been regarded as a meaningful mission. Response surface methodology was used to assess the effect of various factors on the leaching of zinc smelting slag and model the zinc leaching process. The interactions between the influencing factors were explored to reveal the critical factors on the leaching efficiency. Importantly, the prediction model for the leaching of zinc smelting slag was established, and the predicted leaching rates were in general agreement with the actual values. The ionic form of zinc in the leaching solution is Zn(NH3)42+, which could be directly recognized as electrolyte in electrowinning after purification. Next, the electrolyte is formulated using the leaching solution. The highly oriented Zn (002) crystals zinc powder was prepared from the electrolyte using electrodeposition and the physical phase of the zinc powder was observed. The nucleation and cathodic kinetics in the electrolyte were explored using an electrochemical workstation. Finally, zinc powder with highly oriented (002) crystals was coated to form the electrode for Zn||Zn symmetric cell. A series of electrochemical tests were performed on the zinc powder anode and the symmetric cell to verify the excellent performances of the zinc powder anode with highly oriented (002) crystals.