Investigation of the Electrochemical Behavior of Ytterbium Cations in LiCl-KCl Melt Using Spectro-Electrochemical Methods

Abstract

© 2015 The Electrochemical Society. Electrochemical behavior of ytterbium cations in a LiCl-KCl melt was investigated by electrochemical and UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy methods. In the LiCl-KCl melt, ytterbium exists with divalent and trivalent oxidation states. The electrochemical results showed that the electrochemical reactions of the Yb 2+/3+ are reversible and controlled by their diffusion rates. UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy results indicate that the Yb 2+ and Yb 3+ ions in the LiCl-KCl melt have a few strong absorption bands below 400 nm. Additionally, the molar absorptivities of these electronic transitions of Yb 2+ and Yb 3+ in LiCl-KCl melt are reported.