Direct electrochemical preparation of solid Fe(VI) ferrate,and super-iron battery compounds

The electrochemical generation of Fe(VI) salts eliminates requirements for chemical oxidants and decreases the synthesis complexity. An alternate electrochemical synthesis from an iron anode in alkaline electrolyte is presented for the in situ direct synthesis of the solid Fe(VI) salts, such as BaFeO₄. A variety of electrolysis conditions including cell configuration, applied current density, temperature, synthesis duration, electrolyte composition and concentration, and the molar ratio between the reactants have been explored. In situ electrochemically synthesized BaFeO₄ exhibits similar valence, IR absorption spectrum and X-ray powder diffraction as the chemically synthesized material.