In-situ Synthesis of Zirconium Oxycarbide by Electroreduction of ZrO2/C in Molten Salt - 先进靶材中心

Abstract Homogenous ZrCxOy powders have been successfully synthesized by in-situ electro-reduction of solid ZrO2-C composite precursors in molten CaCl2. The effect of applied cell voltage and molar ratio of ZrO2 to C on preparation of ZrCxOy were investigated. The reduction pathway of the composite electrode was studied based on the analysis of intermediate products using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that ZrO2 is firstly converted to CaZrO3. The resulting CaZrO3 is then reduced to ZrCxOy. The ZrCxOy formation is dramatically influenced by electrolysis voltage and molar ratio of ZrO2 to C: a higher cell voltage and lower molar ratio of the ZrO2 to C are more preferable for the formation of ZrCxOy powder. Homogenous ZrCxOy powders with particle size of ~100 nm are synthesized by ZrO2 /C starting elemental powders in CaCl2 molten salt at 1123 K for more than 3 h, when the cell voltage is 3.0 V and the molar ratio of the ZrO2 to carbon starting materials is 1:1.0.