Methods for Determining the Working Electrode Interfacial Area for Electroanalytical Measurements of Metal Ions in Molten LiCl-KCl

摘要

In this paper, we present an empirical evaluation of methods for determining the interfacial area between a working electrode and molten salt - specifically demonstrated using the eutectic LiCl-KCl system. Approaches studied include dipping a cold electrode into the molten salt, using a vertical translator to adjust the height of the electrode, partially coating the electrodes with an insulating material, and integrating a pre-peak which may represent formation of a monolayer of metal on the electrode. Salt mixtures investigated include LiCl-KCl-UCl_3, LiCl-KCl-UCl_3-MgCl_2, LiCl-KCl-LaCl_3-GdCl_3, and LiCl-KCl-LaCl_3-MgCl_2. With accurate determination of the electrode-salt interfacial area, concentration correlations can be developed with error below 2%.