Electrical conductivity of ZrCl4 solutions in the molten LiCl-KCl eutectic

Abstract The electrical conductivity of (LiCl-KCl)eut.– ZrCl4 molten mixtures has been studied as a function of the ZrCl4 concentrations (0–30 mol. %) at the temperature ranging from 764 to 1075 K and gradual zirconium tetrachloride concentration growth of ~ 5 mol. %. For these measurements a conductometric cell of an original construction has been used. The electrical conductivity of the formed mixtures was found to range from 0.9 to 2.8 S/cm. The temperature elevation resulted in the increase in electrical conductivity, whereas the increased ZrCl4 concentration resulted in the decrease in the melt electrical conductivity. The newly determined results on the electrical conductivity have been compared with those previously obtained for other zirconium-containing molten systems and discussed considering the available data on the structure of such melts. The liquidus line has been first constructed for the (LiCl-KCl)eut. – ZrCl4 quasi-binary system at the zirconium tetrachloride concentrations reaching 30 mol. %.