Electrochemical Behaviour of Light Lanthanides in Molten Chlorides with Fluorides

Electrochemical Behaviour of Light Lanthanides in Molten Chlorides with Fluorides 

Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan 

Molten Salts Chemistry and Technology, First Edition. Edited by Marcelle Gaune-Escard and Geir Martin Haarberg. 2014 John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Published 2014 by John Wiley Sons, Ltd. 

Now let us discuss the effect of addition of LiF on the electro-reduction potentials of the rare earths. With increasing LiF, fluoride ions are coordinated selectively at the first coordination sphere around the rare earth cations [3], When the concentration of LiF is small, the larger rate of exchange of fluoride ions leads to a larger activity of rare earth cations. This effect relates to a positive shift of potential in the melts. When the concentration of LiF is too much, the excess fluoride ions are coordinated around the alkali cations, and this fact leads to a negative electro-reduction potential, since the potentials in fluorides are more negative 

Fi re 7.7.2 Differential pulsed volteunmograms of molten LiCI-KCI-NdClj(0.5 wt%)-LiF (0, 5, 8 and 10 times molar strength of NdCI ) at 823 K by using a tungsten working electrode cathodic sweep 

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