Synthesis of titanium-aluminum alloy by molten salt electrolytic deoxidation
摘要
In this work, titanium-aluminide alloys were prepared by molten salt electro-deoxidation of CaTiO3-Al2O3 composite powders, and the formation mechanism of the alloys during electrolysis was investigated. The effects of electrolysis voltage (2.8 V, 3.0 V, 3.2 V) and duration (2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h) on the cathode products were systematically investigated, and the reduction pathway of the composite cathode in molten salt was analyzed. Experimental results demonstrated that a higher degree of TiAl3 alloy formation was achieved at 3.2 V and 8 h. The reduction process of the cathode followed the sequence: CaTiO3 + Al2O3 → TiO + Al14Ca12O33 → Ti + AlO → TiAl3. Furthermore, the deoxygenation mechanism of the CaTiO3-Al2O3 composite cathode was examined based on the three-phase interline (3PI) reaction model. Results revealed that deoxygenation proceeded via the migration of multiple 3PIs, transitioning from the initial configuration of metal wire/CaTiO3-Al2O3 composite cathode/electrolyte to TiAl3/Ti[O]σ-AlO/electrolyte. This work provides fundamental insights into process optimization for preparing titanium-aluminum alloys via molten salt electro-deoxidation and advances the development of green metallurgy technologies.