Electrochemical deposition of Nd and Nd-Fe alloy from Cu6Nd alloy in a NaCl-KCl-NdCl3 melt

摘要

Electrorefining effectively separates metals from their corresponding alloys.To obtain Nd from Cu6 Nd alloy,cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetry were used to investigate the reduction behavior of Nd^(3+) and the anode dissolution behavior of Cu6 Nd in the Na Cl-KCl-0.5 mol%Nd Cl3 melt at 1023 K.According to the analysis of the electrochemical behavior,the cell voltage was determined to be between 0.3 and 1.2 V for separating Nd from Cu6 Nd.After electrolysis at 0.6 V for 4 h,the Nd was found at the surface of the Mo cathode without any Cu.For the Fe cathode,a deposition with an atom ratio of Nd:Fe=1:1 was formed on the surface.However,the low current density of separation remains a great experimental challenge that must be solved.