Cathode Wetting during Magnesium Electrolysis

轻金属如镁和钠是在熔融盐中使用垂直阳极和阴极生产的。这也是铝生产的一个长期目标。由于这些电解过程的功耗很大，因此高电流效率对这些过程的成功至关重要。当金属不能有效地润湿阴极时，小的金属珠就会脱落，并与氧化物反应（下沉到电池底部）或阳极气体重新结合。这两种反应都会导致效率的降低。实际上，所需要的是正在生产的金属的液态阴极。这是铝工业的情况，但它是一个水平阴极。在阳极的顶部有一层金属流动，反反应将被最小化。实验计划包括使用一个透明石英电池来测量电解质中镁与各种潜在阴极材料的接触角。

Light metals such as magnesium and sodium are produced using vertical anodes and cathodes in a molten salt.  This is also a long-term goal for aluminum production.  Due to the large power consumption of these electrolysis processes, a high current efficiency is critical to the success of these processes.  When metal does not effectively wet the cathode, small beads of metal become detached and can react with oxide (to sink to the cell floor) or the anode gas to recombine.  Both of these reactions lead to a loss in efficiency.  In effect, what is desired is a liquid cathode of the metal that is being produced.  This is the case in the aluminum industry, but it is a horizontal cathode.  With a sheet of metal flowing off of the top of the anode, back reactions would be minimized. The experimental plan involves using a see-through quartz cell to measure contact angles of magnesium in electrolyte against various potential cathode materials.