ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

The Effect of Electrolyte Composition on the Electrodeposition of Molybdenum from KF—B₂0₃—K₂Mo0₄ Melts. 1. Chronopotentiometry

M. Makyta, T. A. Utigard, P. Zatko, A. Silný, and V. Daněk

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, SK-842 36 Bratislava

Abstract: Chronopotentiometric experiments have been carried out to determine the effect of the electrolyte composition on the mechanism of electrodeposition of molybdenum from molten KF-B₂O₃-K₂MoO₄ salts. During the dissolution of potassium molybdate in the KF-B₂O₃ electrolyte, two types of molybdenum-containing species, electrochemically active and electrochemically inactive, are created. The electrochemically active molybdenum compound is created by a chemical reaction with boron containing constituents in the melt. Electrochemically inactive molybdenum species are created by the reaction of K₂MoO₄ with fluoride anions. A chemical reaction between these two species was found to precede the one-step charge-transfer reduction of Mo(VI). The diffusion coefficient of the electrochemically active molybdenum compound was determined to be 2.8 x 10^-9 m² s^-1.

Full paper in Portable Document Format: 514a202.pdf

Chemical Papers 51 (4) 202–207 (1997)