The relative efficiency of electrowinning indium from chloride electrolytes

Abstract

The main characteristics of electrolytic reduction applied to indium recovery from aqueous chloride solutions were considered theoretically and examined experimentally. Also other media were considered for comparison. Potentiodynamic examinations pointed out that chloride electrolytes are superior to sulphuric and nitric acid-based ones for efficient indium deposition. The optimum conditions, allowing higher than 90% cathodic current efficiencies, were determined by galvanostatic experiments. In contrast, similar sulphate electrolytes could only yield lower than 50% efficiencies because of a stronger hydrogen evolution. The galvanostatic results confirmed the findings of the potentiodynamic study. The cathodic polarisation curves revealed the major characteristics of the deposition process, implying a reduction of the electroactive In3+ ions. Coupled processes are the dynamic transformations of complex species and various rates of simultaneous hydrogen evolution. The structure and the elemental composition of the—relatively dense—cathodic deposits were examined by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. Various levelling agents were also tested, and gelatine (up to a concentration of 1 g/dm3 in the chloride electrolyte) was found efficient in grain refining.Graphical abstract