Abstract:Direct electrodeposition of quarternary Mg-Zn-Li-Ca alloys on a molybdenum electrode from LiCl-KCl-MgCl₂- ZnCl₂-CaCl₂ melts at 943 K was investigated. Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) show that the deposition potential of Li shifts in a positive direction after adding MgCl₂, ZnCl₂ and CaCl₂. Chronopotentiometric measurements indicate that the codepositon of Mg, Li, Zn, and Ca occurs at current densities lower than -1.55 A/cm². X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that Mg-Zn-Li-Ca alloys with different phases were prepared via galvanostatic electrolysis. The microstructures of typical phase of Mg-Zn-Li-Ca alloys were characterized by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analysis of energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) shows that elements of Mg and Ca distribute homogeneously in the Mg-Zn-Li-Ca alloy. However, element Zn mainly locates at the edges of the domain.

Key words: Mg-Zn-Li-Ca alloys; electrolysis; cyclic voltammetry; molten salt