Effect of Electrolysis Temperature on the Preparation of FeO by Molten Salt Electrolysis

Abstract

FeO is a low-price material with high charge storage capacity, biocompatibility and other characteristics. It has been applied in the fields of catalysts, capacitors, electrodes and composite materials. However, the current method of preparing FeO needs to control the temperature and reducing atmosphere, which increase the production difficulty and cost. In this experiment, the molten salt electrolysis method was used to prepare FeO by using the NaCl-KCl molten salt system and Fe2O3 and Al2O3 as raw materials, and the influence of temperature on the preparation process was explored. The results showed that the electrolysis process of Fe2O3 to FeO is mainly divided into the following three stages: the electric double-layer charging process, Fe2O3 to Fe3O4 process and Fe3O4 to FeO process. The increase in temperature can improve the reaction speed and strengthen the electrolysis effect. The higher the temperature, the less Fe3O4 and more FeO in the sample. Through analysis, it was found that the increase in temperature will affect the theoretical voltage of the electrolytic reaction in thermodynamics, resulting in the increase in the overall potential provided by the power supply. In terms of kinetics, the increase in temperature will affect the viscosity of molten salt, so that O2− transport has better kinetic conditions.

Keywords

• FeO
• molten salt electrolysis
• NaCl-KCl-Fe₂O₃-Al₂O₃ system
• temperature influence mechanism