D704 Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 161 (12) D704-D711 (2014) 0013-4651/2014/161(12)/D704/8/$31.00 © The Electrochemical Society Fabrication of Yb-Rich Mg–Li–Yb Alloys via Co-Reduction

Anhydrous K3YbCl6 was obtained via solid-phase reaction from Yb2O3 with NH4Cl and KCl as chlorination agents. Electrochemical behaviour of ytterbium ions was investigated in LiCl–KCl–MgCl2–K3YbCl6 melt at 903 K on W electrodes. The signal corresponding to Mg2Yb intermetallic compound was detected at the potential close to that of the formation of Mg–Li alloy. Bulk Mg–Li–Yb alloys, characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were prepared via electrochemical co-reduction of Mg, Li and Yb on W electrodes. Yb-rich Mg–Li–Yb alloys with different constituents were obtained via the change of the concentration of K3YbCl6