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- High resolution glow discharge mass (1)
- Micro-hardness (1)
- Purification (1)
- Spectrometry (1)
- Ultra high purity (1)
- Vacuum distillation (1)
- Zinc (1)
We report herein the utilization of a vacuum reduction distillation system (VRDS) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) to characterize chemical transformations in thermal analysis. The system initially designed to monitor metal purification by distillation is applied for the first time to the catalytic reaction of in situ formed nickel oxide during the carbothermic reduction of zinc oxide.
In this work, we report on the application of hyphenated gas source mass spectrometry to study and understand the mechanism of the reduction-distillation of ZnO using Al powder as reductant in its activated and inactivated form. The experiments revealed that the purity of the Zn metal produced were superior using activated Al with respect to inactivated Al, i.e., m5N8 (99.9998% metallic based) versus m5N3. The achieved purity levels of Zn and the absence of high volatile Cd, Mg, and Sb impurities in the gas phase and the material collected were explained with respect to the impurity elements free-energy values, vapor pressure data, and an observed scavenging effect of the Ta crucible, which was supported by the on-line observed mass spectrometric profiles of the residual gas.
Mass spectrometric detection can play a prominent role in the assessment of different reactions occurring at varied temperatures in a milled ZnO/Al mixture. This is the first time that online mass spectrometric information was used as a tool for monitoring and understanding the chemical reduction process mechanism. We have observed four different types of reaction taking place: (1) distillation of Zn metal, (2) reduction of ZnO by activated Al, (3) melting of Al and finally (4) reduction of ZnO by inactivated Al. The experimental conditions and results observed by QMS were supported with literature data and physical measurement data from X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) which gave us an idea about the complex reaction cascade which occurred during the formation of the zinc metal.
Ultra high purity Zn (m6N5) was obtained through triple vacuum distillation using an m4N5 Zn as input material. High-volatile impurities were removed from the zinc matrix by vacuum evaporation, while traces having lower volatility than the matrix remained in the residual material after finishing of the entire purification process. The time required for the removal of the main high-volatile impurity (Cd) was monitored using a connected gas source mass spectrometer. During distillation the Zn vapor of the distillate was condensed on the cap of a glassy carbon crucible which was water cooled by a movable copper block. The temperatures were optimized for the removal of the volatiles and for the distillation process using vapor pressure data. High resolution glow discharge mass spectrometry was applied for the analysis and purity evaluation of the distilled and input zinc. The analysis confirmed the reduction of the metallic impurities from 43 mg kg-1 to 0.5 mg kg-1 (m6N5) after three consecutive vacuum distillations. An increase in the grain size and a decrease in the micro-hardness were observed for the purified Zn material.
Detection and monitoring of volatile elements released during the preparation of ultra high purity zinc by vacuum distillation (VD) is reported using online quadrupole gas source mass spectrometry (QMS). The theoretically calculated vapour pressures (pv) for the volatile impurity elements using Dushman constants and the practically observed mass spectra were found to be consistent (S. Dushman and J. M. Lafferty, Scienific Foundations of Vacuum Technique, 2nd ed., Wiley, New York, 1962). This is the first time that the potential ability of an online mass spectrometer was used for monitoring and understanding the process mechanism during the purification of metals (Zn) using VD. We here also illustrate our findings with the results from high resolution glow discharge mass spectrometer (HR-GDMS) analysis before and after the purification of Zn.