The application of the spectroelectrochemical method in the studies of molybdenum,tungsten, and uranium in chloride melts

The behavior of molybdenum(III), tungsten(IV), and uranium(VI) ions in NaCl-2CsCl-eutectic-mixture-based melt at 550°C is studied by spectroelectrochemical method. Anodic oxidation of MoCl₆³⁻ and WCl₆²⁻ yields melt-soluble chloride compounds MoCl₆²⁻ and WCl₆⁻ respectively. It is shown that the electrochemical recharging in the Mo(III)/Mo(IV) system is reversible; the formal standard potential E*_{Mo(IV)/Mo(III)}and the Gibbs energy $ \Delta G_{MoCl_4 (melt)}^* $ \Delta G_{MoCl_4 (melt)}^* are evaluated. The cathodic reduction of U(VI) yields U(V) ions. The cathodic reduction of W(IV) ion does not yield melt-soluble tungsten compounds of lower oxidation state.