An electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical study of Ln(II) (Ln = Sm, Eu, Yb) species in NaCl-2CsCl melt

Abstract

The behavior of lanthanide (samarium, europium and ytterbium) chloride species in NaCl-2CsCl eutectic based melts was studied between 823-1023 K employing cyclic voltammetry, high temperature electronic absorption spectroscopy and spectroelectrochemistry. Diffusion coefficients of the lanthanide chloro-species, formal standard red-ox potentials and thermodynamics of the formation of LnCl3 from the corresponding dichlorides in the melts were determined. A series of spectroelectrochemical experiments was performed to study cathodic reduction of Ln(III) ions under potentiostatic conditions. Sm(III), Eu(III) and Yb(III) species in NaCl-2CsCl melts can be reduced by metallic zirconium and this reaction was investigated using high temperature spectroscopy. Copyright © 2014 by The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.