Inter- and intra-crystalline ion-exchange equilibria in the system Fe-Cr-Al-O

Abstract

The tie lines delineating ion-exchange equilibria between FeCr₂O₄---FeAl₂O₄ spinel solid solution and Cr₂O₃---Al₂O₃ solid solution with corundum structure have been determined at 1373 K by electron microprobe and EDAX point count analysis of oxide phases equilibrated with metallic iron. Activities in the spinel solid solution are derived from the tie lines and the thermodynamic data on Cr₂O₃---Al₂O₃ solid solution available in the literature. The oxygen potentials corresponding to the tie-line composition of oxide phases in equilibrium with metallic iron were measured using solid oxide galvanic cells with CaO---ZrO₂ and Y₂O₃---ThO₂ electrolytes. These electrochemical measurements also yield activities in the spinel solid solution, in good agreement with those obtained from tie lines. The activity-composition relationship in the spinel solid solution is analysed in terms of the intra-crystalline ion exchange between the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the spinel structures. The ion exchange is governed by site-preference energies of the cations and the entropy of cations mixing on each site.