Direct electroreduction of indium and tin oxides in molten salts

Abstract

Indium is a rare metal. The largest end use for indium is in thinfilm coatings as indium oxide combined with 10 percent tin oxide (ITO). However, indium has recycling rates less than 1%. Indium and tin are especially well suited for fused salt electrolysis because of their low melting points. The electrochemical behaviour of indium and tin oxides was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in molten LiCl-KCl. The direct deoxidation of indium and tin oxides were investigated. A new design of direct electrolytic reduction was proposed considering the low melting points of indium and tin.