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Experimental determination of the electrochemical properties of bismuth chloride in eutectic LiCl–KCl and LiCl–KCl–CaCl2 molten salts

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Abstract

Bismuth has been investigated as a potential liquid electrode for molten salt electrorefining, but the electrochemical behavior of Bi3+/Bi redox couple has received scant attention in LiCl–KCl and LiCl–KCl–CaCl2 eutectics. Electroanalytical techniques were used to determine properties of Bi3+/Bi. Diffusivities of 6.71 and 8.93 × 10−6 cm2 s−1 and standard apparent potentials of 0.1166 and 0.1187 V versus Ag/AgCl (4.75 mol%) were recommended for BiCl3 in LiCl–KCl and LiCl–KCl–CaCl2 eutectics, respectively, at 680 ± 3.1 K. The ICP-MS analysis of BiCl3 content limited the accuracy of the results. The reliability of the results improved with a more thorough drying procedure for CaCl2.

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Data availability

The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper. Should any raw data files be needed in another format they are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Greg Chipman, Bryant Johnson, Cameron Vann, Lance Whitesides & Devin Rappleye

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Chipman, G., Johnson, B., Vann, C. et al. Experimental determination of the electrochemical properties of bismuth chloride in eutectic LiCl–KCl and LiCl–KCl–CaCl2 molten salts. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 333, 1119–1135 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-024-09354-4

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