Molten salts play multiple important roles in the electrolysis of solid metal compounds,particularly oxides and sulfides,for the extraction of metals or alloys.Some of these roles are positive in assisting the extract...Molten salts play multiple important roles in the electrolysis of solid metal compounds,particularly oxides and sulfides,for the extraction of metals or alloys.Some of these roles are positive in assisting the extraction of metals,such as dissolving the oxide or sulfide anions,and transporting them to the anode for discharging,and offering the high temperature to lower the kinetic barrier to break the metal-oxygen or metal-sulfur bond.However,molten salts also have unfavorable effects,including electronic conductivity and significant capability of dissolving oxygen and carbon dioxide gases.In addition,although molten salts are relatively simple in terms of composition,physical properties,and decomposition reactions at inert electrodes,in comparison with aqueous electrolytes,the high temperatures of molten salts may promote unwanted electrode-electrolyte interactions.This article reviews briefly and selectively the research and development of the F ray-F arthing-Chen(FFC)Cambridge Process in the past two decades,focusing on observations,understanding,and solutions of various interactions between molten salts and cathodes at different reduction states,including perovskitization,non-wetting of molten salts on pure metals,carbon contamination of products,formation of oxychlorides and calcium intermetallic compounds,and oxygen transfer from the air to the cathode product mediated by oxide anions in the molten salt.展开更多
Using FFC-Cambridge Process to prepare Si from SiO2 is a promising method to prepare nanostructured and highly pure silicon for solar cells.However,the method still has many problems unsolved and the controlling effec...Using FFC-Cambridge Process to prepare Si from SiO2 is a promising method to prepare nanostructured and highly pure silicon for solar cells.However,the method still has many problems unsolved and the controlling effect of the cell voltage on silicon product is not clear.Here we report in this article that nano cluster-like silicon product with purity of 99.95%has been prepared by complete conversion of raw material SiO2,quartz glass plate,using constant cell voltage electrolysis FFC-Cambridge Process.By analysis of XRD,EDS,TEM,HRTEM and ICP-AES as well as the discussion from the thermodynamics calculation,the morphology and components of the product based on the change of cell voltage are clarified.It is clear that pure silicon could be prepared at the cell voltage of 1.7 2.1 V in this reaction system.The silicon material have cluster-like structure which are made of silicon nanoparticles in 20 100 nm size.Interestingly,the cluster-like nano structure of the silicon can be tuned by the used cell voltage.The purity,yield and the energy cost of silicon product prepared at the optimized cell voltage are discussed.The purity of the silicon product could be further improved,hence this method is promising for the preparation of solar grade silicon in future.展开更多
文摘Molten salts play multiple important roles in the electrolysis of solid metal compounds,particularly oxides and sulfides,for the extraction of metals or alloys.Some of these roles are positive in assisting the extraction of metals,such as dissolving the oxide or sulfide anions,and transporting them to the anode for discharging,and offering the high temperature to lower the kinetic barrier to break the metal-oxygen or metal-sulfur bond.However,molten salts also have unfavorable effects,including electronic conductivity and significant capability of dissolving oxygen and carbon dioxide gases.In addition,although molten salts are relatively simple in terms of composition,physical properties,and decomposition reactions at inert electrodes,in comparison with aqueous electrolytes,the high temperatures of molten salts may promote unwanted electrode-electrolyte interactions.This article reviews briefly and selectively the research and development of the F ray-F arthing-Chen(FFC)Cambridge Process in the past two decades,focusing on observations,understanding,and solutions of various interactions between molten salts and cathodes at different reduction states,including perovskitization,non-wetting of molten salts on pure metals,carbon contamination of products,formation of oxychlorides and calcium intermetallic compounds,and oxygen transfer from the air to the cathode product mediated by oxide anions in the molten salt.
基金supported by the Solar Energy Initiative of the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KGCX2-YW-395)
文摘Using FFC-Cambridge Process to prepare Si from SiO2 is a promising method to prepare nanostructured and highly pure silicon for solar cells.However,the method still has many problems unsolved and the controlling effect of the cell voltage on silicon product is not clear.Here we report in this article that nano cluster-like silicon product with purity of 99.95%has been prepared by complete conversion of raw material SiO2,quartz glass plate,using constant cell voltage electrolysis FFC-Cambridge Process.By analysis of XRD,EDS,TEM,HRTEM and ICP-AES as well as the discussion from the thermodynamics calculation,the morphology and components of the product based on the change of cell voltage are clarified.It is clear that pure silicon could be prepared at the cell voltage of 1.7 2.1 V in this reaction system.The silicon material have cluster-like structure which are made of silicon nanoparticles in 20 100 nm size.Interestingly,the cluster-like nano structure of the silicon can be tuned by the used cell voltage.The purity,yield and the energy cost of silicon product prepared at the optimized cell voltage are discussed.The purity of the silicon product could be further improved,hence this method is promising for the preparation of solar grade silicon in future.
