Strontium electrolytic deposition on molten zinc cathode

The cathode polarization was studied of liquid zinc electrode in equimolar mixture of potassium and sodium chlorides, containing 2, 4 and 6% by mass SrCl2, at 700 and 750 deg C. It was demonstrated that the precipitation of strontium on the liquid zinc cathode is accompanied by depolarization whose magnitude at 700 deg C amounts to 1 V. The limit alloy-forming current intensities are 0.025 and 0.035 A/cm2 respectively for 700 and 750 deg C. The thickness was evaluated of the diffusion layer in the molten alloy, its thickness having been found equal to 3.5x10-2 for a content in the alloy of 0.235 at.%Sr. It was shown that, at current densities in excess of the alloy-forming limit, strontium and sodium ions discharge together at the cathode, the current yield in terms of strontium then attaining 86%