Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B1/00—Electrolytic production of inorganic compounds or non-metals
  • C25B1/01—Products
  • C25B1/24—Halogens or compounds thereof
  • C25B1/26—Chlorine; Compounds thereof
  • C25B1/265—Chlorates
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
  • B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
  • B22F9/00—Making metallic powder or suspensions thereof
  • B22F9/02—Making metallic powder or suspensions thereof using physical processes
  • B22F9/04—Making metallic powder or suspensions thereof using physical processes starting from solid material, e.g. by crushing, grinding or milling
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C33/00—Making ferrous alloys
  • C22C33/02—Making ferrous alloys by powder metallurgy
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C33/00—Making ferrous alloys
  • C22C33/02—Making ferrous alloys by powder metallurgy
  • C22C33/0257—Making ferrous alloys by powder metallurgy characterised by the range of the alloying elements
  • C22C33/0278—Making ferrous alloys by powder metallurgy characterised by the range of the alloying elements with at least one alloying element having a minimum content above 5%
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C38/00—Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys
  • C22C38/002—Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys containing In, Mg, or other elements not provided for in one single group C22C38/001 - C22C38/60
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C38/00—Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys
  • C22C38/06—Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys containing aluminium
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C38/00—Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys
  • C22C38/12—Ferrous alloys, e.g. steel alloys containing tungsten, tantalum, molybdenum, vanadium, or niobium
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
  • C23C—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL
  • C23C30/00—Coating with metallic material characterised only by the composition of the metallic material, i.e. not characterised by the coating process
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C23—COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL
  • C23F—NON-MECHANICAL REMOVAL OF METALLIC MATERIAL FROM SURFACE; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL; MULTI-STEP PROCESSES FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL INVOLVING AT LEAST ONE PROCESS PROVIDED FOR IN CLASS C23 AND AT LEAST ONE PROCESS COVERED BY SUBCLASS C21D OR C22F OR CLASS C25
  • C23F13/00—Inhibiting corrosion of metals by anodic or cathodic protection
  • C23F13/02—Inhibiting corrosion of metals by anodic or cathodic protection cathodic; Selection of conditions, parameters or procedures for cathodic protection, e.g. of electrical conditions
  • C23F13/06—Constructional parts, or assemblies of cathodic-protection apparatus
  • C23F13/08—Electrodes specially adapted for inhibiting corrosion by cathodic protection; Manufacture thereof; Conducting electric current thereto
  • C23F13/12—Electrodes characterised by the material
  • C23F13/14—Material for sacrificial anodes
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B11/00—Electrodes; Manufacture thereof not otherwise provided for
  • C25B11/04—Electrodes; Manufacture thereof not otherwise provided for characterised by the material
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • C25B11/00—Electrodes; Manufacture thereof not otherwise provided for
  • C25B11/04—Electrodes; Manufacture thereof not otherwise provided for characterised by the material
  • C25B11/051—Electrodes formed of electrocatalysts on a substrate or carrier
  • C25B11/073—Electrodes formed of electrocatalysts on a substrate or carrier characterised by the electrocatalyst material
  • C25B11/091—Electrodes formed of electrocatalysts on a substrate or carrier characterised by the electrocatalyst material consisting of at least one catalytic element and at least one catalytic compound; consisting of two or more catalytic elements or catalytic compounds
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
  • B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
  • B22F9/00—Making metallic powder or suspensions thereof
  • B22F9/02—Making metallic powder or suspensions thereof using physical processes
  • B22F9/04—Making metallic powder or suspensions thereof using physical processes starting from solid material, e.g. by crushing, grinding or milling
  • B22F2009/041—Making metallic powder or suspensions thereof using physical processes starting from solid material, e.g. by crushing, grinding or milling by mechanical alloying, e.g. blending, milling

Definitions

• the present invention relates to new catalytic alloys based on Fe, Al, Ta and catalytic species such as Ru.
• the present invention also relates to the use of such catalytic alloys as electrode material for the synthesis of sodium chlorate.
• M represents at least one catalytic specie selected from the group consisting of Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, Rh, Os, Re and Ag;
• T represents at least one element selected from the group consisting of Mo, Co, Cr, V, Cu, Zn, Nb, W, Zr, Y, Mn, Cd, Si, B, C, O, N, P, F, S, Ci and Na;
• x is a number higher than -1 and smaller than or equal to +1
• y is a number higher than 0 and smaller than or equal to +1
• z is a number ranging between 0 and +1 have been disclosed recently as efficient cathodic materials for the synthesis of sodium chlorate (see CA 2,687,129 and the corresponding international application WO 2008/138148).
• These catalytic materials when use as cathode for the electrosynthesis of sodium chlorate show very low cathodic overpotentials and they do not absorb hydrogen when the H 2 evolution reaction takes place on their surfaces.
• the inventors of record have search new formulations and have discover surprisingly that the addition of a small amount of Ta to these materials could make these new alloys not only highly resistant to corrosion in chlorate electrolyte but also in acidic (HCl) solutions without loosing any performance regarding the electrochemical synthesis of sodium chlorate.
• Fe 3 Al(Ru) alloys are often single phase solid solutions usually prepared in a nanocrystalline form by mecanosynthesis.
• a powder mixture of ruthenium and iron aluminide is milled intensively for several hours until the Ru catalytic element enters and gets highly dispersed into the cubic crystalline structure of iron aluminide (Fe 3 Al).
• the nanocrystalline Fe 3 Al(Ru) alloy thus formed is highly active thanks to its high surface area and highly dispersed electrocatalytic element.
• Ta tantalum
• Fe3Al(Ru)Ta t with various Ta concentration "t” can be prepared as a single phase material by mechanosynthesis very easily and these new alloys show not only good electrocatalytic activity towards the electrosynthesis of sodium chlorate but also good corrosion resistance in the sodium chlorate electrolyte as well as in concentrated HC1 solutions.
• the first object of the present invention is an alloy characterized by the following formula:
• M represents at least one catalytic specie selected from the group consisting of Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, Rh, Os, Re and Ag;
• T represents at least one element selected from the group consisting of Mo, Co, Cr, V, Cu, Zn, Nb, W, Zr, Y, Mn, Cd, Si, B, C, O, N, P, F, S, CI, Na and Ti;
• x is a number higher than -1 and smaller than or equal to +1
• y is a number higher than 0 and smaller than or equal to +1
• z is a number ranging between 0 and +1
• t is a number higher than 0 and smaller than or equal to +1, preferably lower than 0.4 and more preferably lower than or equal to 0.2
• the alloy of the invention is preferably in a nanocrystalline state. If nanocrystalline, the crystallites are smaller than 1 OOnm.
• the alloy is also preferably a single phase material with a cubic crystallographic structure but can also be multiphase depending on the x, y, z and t composition. Most of the time, these alloys are metastable. In other words, they decompose or transform into a different state when heated at high temperatures. But again, they can also be thermodynamically stable depending on the x, y, z and t composition.
• a second object of the present invention is the use of such alloys as electrode material for the synthesis of sodium chlorate.
• a preferred one is thermal spray such as the high velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) technique using the alloy in powder form as feedstock for the spray gun. If the method of preparation involves a rapid quenching process, the alloy can be prepared in a nano crystal line state.
• HVOF high velocity oxyfuel
• a third object of the present invention is the use of these alloys as coating for the protection against corrosion. If the targeted application is a coating for protection against corrosion, there may be no advantage of adding a large amount of expensive catalytic element to the alloy. In these cases, the molar content "y" can be chosen small to reduce costs. Moreover, it may be advantageous to add some Ti (titanium) to the alloy since Ti is also known for its good corrosion resistance and the inventors of the present invention found that Ti like Ta is quite soluble in iron-aluminium alloys.
• Fig. 1 shows an equilibrium ternary phase diagram of the Fe, Al and Ta at 1000°C.
• Fig. 2 shows pictures of a corrosion test in 5% HC1 solution for a sample containing Ta according to the invention (right end side) and a similar sample not containing Ta (left end side).
• Fig, 3 represents the hydrogen released as a function of time during corrosion tests in a 5% HCl solution for samples according to the invention containing Ta with composition t of 0.1 , 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 and a similar sample not containing Ta.
• Fig. 7 a) and b) show pictures of a coating according to the invention made from the powder of Fig. 6 using a thermal spray technique at two different magnifications 120 and 5000x.
• Fig. 8 show samples of coated electrodes after lhour immersion in 5% HCl solution.
• the left end side is an electrode of the prior art while the right end side is an electrode according to the present invention containing Ta.
• Fig. 9 shows cyclic voltametric curves (current - voltage curves) in a chlorate solution taken at a rate of 5mV/sec at 20°C and pH-6.5 for a sample of the invention and a standard stainless steel 316 sample.
• Fig. 10 shows an equilibrium ternary phase diagram of the Fe, Al and Ti at 1200°C.
• Fig. 1 shows a ternary phase diagram of Fe, Al and Ta at 1000°C.
• a single phase FeAlTa t material can be prepared at room temperature using a rapid quenching process. If the Ta content is high, the single phase obtain at room temperature will most likely be metastable.
• Fig. 2 represents a corrosion test of an alloy containing Ta according to the invention in comparison with a similar alloy not containing Ta.
• the samples are immerged in a 5% HC1 solution.
• a lot of hydrogen bubbles indicating severe corrosion in the acidic solution.
• the alloy containing Ta in the picture on the right end side very little bubble formation is observed indicating a much better corrosion resistance in the HC1 solution.
• Fig. 3 represents corrosion tests similar to the ones of Fig. 2 showing the amount of hydrogen released during the test as a function of time.
• the sample of the prior art not containing Ta, Fe3 -x Ali +x M y T z releases 1 1ml of hydrogen in about 7,5min while the sample of the present invention Fe3 -x Ali +x- vi y T z Tao ,2 containing Ta at a molar content of y 0.2 releases only 3.9 ml in 340min.
• Fig. 4 represents corrosion tests similar to the ones of Fig. 3 where, in addition to the curves presented in Fig. 3, the results of a sample containing both Nb and Ta are presented.
• x Ali +x MyNbojTao ,2 released only 1,5ml of hydrogen in 500min. This synergetic effect when both Nb and Ta are present in the alloy and which gives enormous improvement in the corrosion resistance of the alloy in HC1 solution was also unexpected.
• the intensity of the Ta peak decreases and vanishes after about 12h of milling. This indicates that all of the Ta has penetrated into the crystalline structure of iron aluminide to form a metastable solid solution.
• the average particle size of this nanocrystalline powder is around 10 microns.
• Fig. 7a) and b) represent scanning electron micrographs at 120x and 5000x magnification respectively of the surface of a coating according to the invention made by HVOF thermal spray using the powder shown in Fig. 6.
• the material of the coating contains both Nb and Ta elements.
• This electrocatalytic coating is not only corrosion resistant in the chlorate electrolytic but also in hydrochloric acid solutions.
• Fig. 8 represents images of electrodes after immersion in a 5% HC1 solution for one hour.
• the left side is a picture of an electrode of the prior art (Fe 3 . x Ali +x M y T z ) while the right side shows a picture of an electrode of the present invention (Fe3 -x Ali +x M y T-Ta t ).
• the electrode of the prior art has been destroyed by the acid wash treatment.
• the catalytic coating has peeled off from the substrate.
• the electrode of the present invention shown on the right end side is intact and shows no damage.
• the breakdown potentials on the anodic side are almost the same for the two samples indicating that under these conditions, the coating material of the invention is a corrosion resistant material as good as stainless steel 316.
• Fig. 10 represents a ternary phase diagram of Fe, Al and Ti at 1200°C.
• Ti is quite soluble in the alloys. Therefore, for applications as corrosion resistant coatings, it may be advantageous of adding not only Ta but also Ti to the alloys since Ti is known to be a good corrosion resistant element especially in chlorine environment. However, the addition of Ti is not recommended in applications as electrode for the hydrogen evolution reaction since Ti is known to form stable hydrides as discussed in CA 2,687,129 mentioned hereinabove.
• Fig. 1 1 shows an electrochemical test conducted in a standard chlorate solution using a DSA as anode and an electrode material of the invention as cathode.
• the anodic and cathodic voltages are measured with respect to a Ag/AgCl reference electrode. 1.3 volt has been substracted from the Anode-Cathode voltage difference in order to show the three traces on the same figure.
• Open circuit (OC) events for durations of 30sec. lmin and 2min have been conducted during the test. Has it can be seen, the voltage of the cell remains stable in spite of these events.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=49622968

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (19)

• 2012
  • 2012-05-25 CA CA2778865A patent/CA2778865A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2013
  • 2013-04-26 CN CN201380027068.2A patent/CN104471097A/zh active Pending
  • 2013-04-26 EP EP13793202.6A patent/EP2855726A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2013-04-26 CA CA2873922A patent/CA2873922A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2013-04-26 BR BR112014029091A patent/BR112014029091A2/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2013-04-26 US US14/403,296 patent/US20150096900A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2013-04-26 WO PCT/CA2013/050323 patent/WO2013173916A1/en active Application Filing

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events