Chloride ion oxidation in molten alkaline-earth metal, magnesium, and zinc chlorides

The interaction of molten alkaline-earth metal, magnesium, and zinc chlorides with oxygen has been investigated. The products of these reactions are molecular chlorine and the respective metal oxides. The reactivity of the chlorides increases linearly with an increasing polarizing power of the cation or with an increasing effective polarizing power of the mixture of cations. The magnesium oxide and magnesium oxide-zinc oxide powders resulting from the oxidation of the respective chlorides have been analyzed.