Thermodynamic properties of Barium-Bismuth alloys determined by emf measurements

Abstract

Thermodynamic properties of Ba-Bi alloys, including the activity, partial molar entropy and enthalpy, were determined using the electromotive force (emf) technique for fourteen compositions, xBa=0.05–0.80. Emf measurements were performed at ambient pressure using a Ba(s)|CaF2-BaF2|Ba(in Bi) or Ba-Bi(xBa=0.05)|CaF2-BaF2|Ba(in Bi) electrochemical cells at 723–1073K. At 773K, activity values of Ba were as low as 6.6×10−16 at mole fraction xBa=0.05 and approached unity for mole fractions xBa≥0.80. Stable emf values were observed at mole fractions xBa=0.05–0.25, exhibiting less than a 5mV difference between the heating and cooling cycles. Mole fractions xBa≥0.30 exhibited increased hysteresis or had an unexpected emf profile due to the formation of metastable phases such as Bi and Ba5Bi3, confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The Ba-Bi alloys were further characterized using differential scanning calorimetry over the entire composition range. Based on these data, a revised Ba-Bi binary phase diagram is proposed.