Hydrogen reduction of a Cu2O-WO3 mixture

In the present work, the reduction kinetics of Cu2O-WO3 mixtures by hydrogen gas was studied by thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). The reduction experiments were carried out both isothermally and nonisothermally on shallow powder beds in the temperature interval 673 to 1073 K. During the experiments, the reductant gas flow rate was kept just above the starvation rate for the reaction to ensure that chemical reaction was the rate-controlling step. The composition and microstructures of the reaction products were analyzed after each experiment by X-ray diffraction (XRD) as well as by microprobe analyses. In the temperature interval 673 to 923 K, copper oxide was found to be preferentially reduced in the early stages of the experiment followed by the reduction of tungsten oxide. The reaction mechanism was found to be affected by a reaction/transformation in the starting copper-tungsten oxide mixtures in the temperature interval 923 to 973 K. At temperatures higher than 973 K, the reduction of the complex oxide formed was found to have a strong impact on the reaction kinetics. The activation energy was evaluated, from the isothermal as well as nonisothermal reduction experiments, for the two stages of reduction identified. The XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies indicated the formation of a metastable solution of copper in tungsten at about 923 K. The advantage of the hydrogen reduction route toward the bulk production of alloy powders in the nanosize is demonstrated.