About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Materials and Chemistry for Molten Salt Systems
|
| Presentation Title |
Measuring Thermodynamic Properties of Complex Molten Salts Using Cathodic Decomposition Electrodes |
| Author(s) |
Timothy Lichtenstein, Jarrod Gesualdi, Krista L. Hawthorne |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Timothy Lichtenstein |
| Abstract Scope |
Electrochemical measurements to determine thermochemical property values of molten salts require the use of well-defined standard reference electrodes for effective reproducible
measurements. Conventional reference electrodes used in molten salt systems are typically based upon the anodic decomposition of a molten salt constituent, which can generate corrosive and toxic gases that react with reference electrode materials and can cause instability in the measurement. Here, we demonstrated the use of Cathodic Decomposition Electrodes (CDEs) for thermochemical property measurements. CDEs treat the cathodic decomposition of the pure solvent (Li<sup>+</sup>/Li<sup>0</sup> in LiCl-KCl or Fe<sup>2+</sup>/Fe<sup>0</sup> in FeCl<sub>2</sub>-KCl salts) or a pure component of the solvent (e.g., pure LiCl for LiCl-KCl or pure FeCl<sub>2</sub> in FeCl<sub>2</sub>-KCl) as the standard state for reference values. Electromotive force and transient measurements were used to obtain high-quality thermochemical values of various analytes in molten salts utilizing CDEs and these electrodes can be adapted to other generic salt systems. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |