| Abstract Scope |
Electrochemical graphitization in molten salts is a novel method for converting amorphous carbon into graphite materials at relatively low temperatures. For this process, it is of great significance to further understand the correlation between the thermal and physical properties of molten salt and the structural properties of the electrolyte to optimize the molten salt selection further and adjust the product's microstructure. In this work, the electrochemical transformation of deposited carbon in different chloride (NaCl, KCl, and CaCl2) molten salts was studied. The results show that under conditions at a cell voltage of 2.8 V and a molten pool temperature of 900 °C for eight hours, amorphous deposited carbon can achieve graphitization transformation in CaCl2, accompanied by removing O, N, and S atoms. Pearson correlation analysis of molten salt thermophysical properties and electrolytic product structure showed that the conductivity and viscosity of molten salt affected the change of specific surface area during the electrochemical transformation of deposited carbon. The molecular simulation results show that the charge transfer of cations to cathode DC in molten salt contributes to the change of surface chemical properties of the electrolysis products, and the greater the transfer charge, the greater the degree of graphitization transformation of amorphous carbon, and the greater the removal rate of impurity elements. |