Investigation of the Electrochemical Reduction of Porous CaTiO3 Pellets in CaCl2%–0.5%CaO Molten Salt

The formation of CaTiO3 during the electro-reduction of TiO2 pellets in CaCl2-based molten salts is unavoidable. So in present paper, the electro-deoxidation of porous CaTiO3 pellets was investigated. Cyclic voltammetry and constant potential electrolysis experiments were conducted to gain insight into the electro-deoxidation mechanism. From the results, two new reduction pathways of the porous CaTiO3 pellets were determined. The main factor influencing the reduction pathways is the porosity. When the porosity is low, CaTiO3 is directly reduced into TiO. With the porosity increases, some CaTiO3 will firstly be reduced into CaTi2O4 and then the CaTi2O4 is further reduced into TiO. The effect of the potential applied on the cathode on the possible reduction limit of the sample was discussed. The results indicated that the more negative the potential is, the faster the deoxidation rate is and the lower the deoxidation limit is. Only when the applied potential is more negative than −1.6 V vs Ag+/Ag, low-oxygen titanium (the oxygen content is lower than 1%) can be obtained in our experimental conditions. In addition, the microstructural kinetics of phase transformations during reduction of the CaTiO3 pellets were also discussed.