Electrochemical codeposition of typical α＋β phases Mg-Li alloys from the molten LiCl-KCl-MgC2 system

Electrochemical codeposition of Mg-Li alloys on molybdenum electrodes was investigated in LiCl-KCl（50 wt.%：50 wt.%） melts containing different concentrations of MgCl2 at 973 K.Cyclic voltammograms show that the underpotential deposition of lithium on pre-deposited magnesium leads to the formation of liquid Mg-Li alloys.The deposition potentials of Mg（II） and Li（I） ions gradually near each other with MgCl2 concentration decreasing.Mg-Li alloys with typical α ＋ β phases could be obtained by potentiostatic electrolysis from LiCl-KCl melts containing 5 wt.% MgCl2 at -2.25 V vs.Ag/AgCl（cathodic current density 1.70 A·cm-2） for 2.5 h.α phase, α ＋ β phases, and β phase Mg-Li alloys with different lithium contents were obtained by potentiostatic electrolysis from LiCl-KCl melts with the different concentrations of MgCl2.The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.