As a new process, molten salt electrolysis is widely used in the preparation of metal materials by in situ reduction in solid cathodes. Therefore, it is meaningful to study the influence of the physical properties of solid cathodes on electrolysis products. In this paper, mixed oxides of Fe2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 were selected as raw materials, and their particle size distribution, pore size distribution, specific surface area, and other physical properties were investigated by mechanical ball milling at different times. The CaCl2-NaCl molten salt system was selected to electrolyze the sintered cathode solid at 800 °C and a voltage of 3.2 V. The experimental results show that with the prolongation of ball-milling time, the particle size of mixed oxide raw materials gradually decreases, the specific surface area gradually increases, the distribution of micropores increases, and the distribution of mesopores decreases. After sintering at 800 °C for 4 h, the volume and particle size of the solid cathode increased, the impedance value gradually decreased, and the pores first increased and then decreased. The electrolysis results showed that the prolongation of the ball-milling time hindered the electrolysis process.
Keywords: cathode preparation; intermetallic compounds; molten salt electrolysis; physical properties.