Electrochemical studies on the redox behavior of zirconium in the LiF-NaF eutectic melt

Liang Xu, Yanping Xiao, Qian Xu*, Anthonie van Sandwijk, Zhuo Zhao, Qiushi Song, Yanqing Cai, Yongxiang Yang

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    15 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In the present paper, a detailed study of the redox behavior of zirconium in the eutectic LiF-NaF system was carried out on an inert molybdenum electrode at 750 °C. Several transient electrochemical methods were used such as cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, and open circuit voltammetry. The reduction of Zr (IV) was found to follow a two-step mechanism of Zr (IV)/Zr (II) and Zr (II)/Zr at the potentials of about −1.10 and −1.50 V versus Pt, respectively. The theoretical evaluations of the number of transferred electrons according to both cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry further confirmed the Zr reduction mechanism. The estimations of Zr (IV) diffusion coefficient in the LiF-NaF eutectic melt at 750 °C through cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry are in fair agreement, as to be approximately 1.13E-5 and 2.42E-5 cm2/s, respectively.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)295-301
    JournalJournal of Nuclear Materials
    Volume488
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017

    Keywords

    • LiF-NaF
    • Redox behavior
    • Zirconium electrochemical properties

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Electrochemical studies on the redox behavior of zirconium in the LiF-NaF eutectic melt'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this