Semiconducting tin oxide electrodes in molten sodium chloroaluminate at 175°C

Electrode behavior of Sb-doped poly-crystalline tin oxide electrodes has been investigated by means of current and differential capacity measurements in molten chloroaluminate melts (AlCl₃+NaCl) with different pCl values. The SnO₂ is stable in the melts consisting of near equimolar composition, being used as an indicator electrode possessing a polarizable potential region between chlorine evolution and its cathodic decomposition. The differential capacity is assigned to the space charge layer capacity of the electrode side and its potential dependence is explained by using the Mott-Schottky equation. It is found that the flat band potential does depend on pCl (=?log a_Cl^?) at a rate of 2(2.3kT/e) per pCl unit. This anomaly is attributed to the specific adsorption of Cl^? ions on the oxide electrode.