Electrochemical Synthesis of Double Molybdenum Carbides

Kola Science Centre RAS, Institute of Chemistry, Russia Laboratory of Chemical Reactor Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands 

The reforming of natural gas results in the formation of hydrogen with 10-12 vol% carbon monoxide. Since CO is a poison for the proton-exchange membrane of a fuel element, the water-gas shift reaction 

Various methods of synthesizing double molybdenum carbides are known. One of the most widely used producing techniques of double carbides is the joint electroreduction of molybdenum and nickel (cobalt) in chloride melts under CO2 pressure over the melt [5-7]. 

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. 

Another method of forming double molybdenum carbides consists in the carbonization of Mo and Ni alloys prepared in a carbonization gas (mixture of pure methane and hydrogen) flow at a temperature of 1273-1473 K for 100-150 hours [8], As a result of carbonization, Ni(Mo,C) solid solutions with active carbon (graphite) on a plate surface form. 

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We proposed a new two-stage method for synthesizing double molybdenum and nickel carbides and nickel-promoter molybdenum carbide. It consists in the electrochemical synthesis of molybdenum and nickel alloys in chloride melt followed by carbonization in a chloride-carbonate melt. 

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