Investigation of the thermodynamics and kinetics of metal oxide preparation through in-situ ionic membrane electrometallurgy of metal chloride aqueous solutions

Abstract

Nanometal oxides (NMOs) have significant applications in various fields, such as energy, materials, environment, and medicine. In this study, we successfully synthesized NMOs (M = Co, Mn, Cu, Fe and Ce) from metal chloride aqueous solutions through one-step in situ electrometallurgy (OSISE), mimicking the chloralkali process. Although the synthesis of NMOs was achieved smoothly in a single step, the electrochemical conversion process is not well understood. Therefore, for the first time, we investigate the thermodynamics, characterize the products and evaluate the electrode process kinetics of in situ ion membrane electrometallurgy for the preparation of NMOs from metal chloride. The reaction direction and the kinetic parameters were validated through practical experiments, which could potentially lay the foundation for ion membrane electrometallurgy.