Study on removal of aluminum from Ti-Al alloy by molten salt electrolysis

The investigation on the dealloying of aluminum-titanium alloy by molten salt electrolysis was performed, in which titanium alloy was used as sacrificial anode and Na₃AlF₆ as electrolyte for electrolysis. The samples and molten salt before and after electrolysis were characterized by XRD. The Al content in the Ti-Al alloy samples was quantitatively analyzed by ICP-AES. The results show that the electrolysis voltage gradually rose to a balanced value. It is found by X-ray diffraction that the main phase of the TiAl₃ alloy is TiAl₃ after electrolysis, but the metal Ti appears. The analysis of ICP-AES showed that the optimal electrolysis current density is 0.20 A/cm² leading to reduction of 16.64% in Al content and the dealuminization rate of 26.8%. When the current density of 0.20 A/cm² was electrolyzed for 5 h, the aluminum content decreased by 17.55% and the dealuminization rate reached 28.26%. Thus, it is feasible to reduce the aluminum content in the titanium-aluminum alloy by using molten salt electrolysis.