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Production of Silicon by Solid Oxide Membrane-Based Electrolysis Process

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2013

Yihong Jiang ,
JiaPeng Xu ,
Xiaofei Guan ,
Uday B. Pal  and
Soumendra N. Basu
Yihong Jiang
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
JiaPeng Xu
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Xiaofei Guan
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Uday B. Pal
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Brookline, MA 02446, USA Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Soumendra N. Basu
Affiliation:
Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, Brookline, MA 02446, USA Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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Abstract

The solid oxide membrane (SOM) electrolysis process has been successfully tested on a laboratory scale to produce silicon directly from silica in a cost-effective and eco-friendly way. A one-end-closed yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) tube was employed to separate a molten salt containing dissolved silica from a liquid metal anode placed inside the YSZ tube. When an applied electric potential between a liquid tin cathode in the molten salt and the anode exceeds the dissociation potential of silica, oxygen ions are transported out of the molten salt through the YSZ membrane and oxidized at the anode while the silicon cations in the flux are reduced to silicon on the surface of the liquid tin cathode. A potentiodynamic scan (PDS) was performed to determine the dissociation potential of silica in the molten salt system. Electrolysis was performed at 1.05 V for 8 hours. The presence of high-purity silicon crystals on the surface of liquid tin cathode was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).

Keywords

ionic conductorelectrodepositionSi
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1493: Symposium E/H – Photovoltaic Technologies, Devices and Systems Based on Inorganic Materials, Small Organic Molecules and Hybrids , 2013 , pp. 231 - 235
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2013 

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References

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