Institute of Solid State Chemistry of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia:

S. P. Yatsenko, Principal Researcher, Professor, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, e-mail: yatsenko@ihim.uran.ru
V. М. Skachkov, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Chemical Sciences
L. А. Pasechnik, Leading Scientific Researcher, Candidate of Chemical Sciences

The method for the synthesis of aluminum based master alloys and alloys, which employs the high-temperature exchange reaction between fluoridechloride melt of alkaline or alkaline-earth elements and fluoride, oxide or oxyfluoride of the corresponding metal (scandium, yttrium, zirconium) with molten aluminum metal, is considered. The use of high temperatures leads to a large loss of fluoride-chloride salts of alkaline metals, and experiments for the enhancement of the percentage of alloying component finally result in an abrupt reduction of direct metallurgical yield. The mass ratio of salt melt to aluminum melt determined by the solubility of chosen compounds is established. At the salt : metal ratio less than 1:1, the process of reduction of introduced metal is retarded. The study of the kinetics of high-temperature exchange reactions of metals from salt melt at different temperatures shows that after the beginning of melting of fusible components of salt flux (~580 ^oC) the interaction with still hard aluminum already begins. However, this solid-phase reaction dies down quickly because the aluminum particles are covered by reaction products. The subsequent melting of aluminum is accompanied by a rapid destruction of the oxide film and acceleration of the exchange reaction, which also fades out quickly due to impediments connected with diffusion — the compounds, formed on liquid aluminum, block the way to initial substances. This limits the amount of metal introduced in aluminum using high-temperature exchange reactions. Scandium, yttrium and zirconium rich aluminum master alloys were obtained by the centrifugation methods. Al – Sc master alloy with scandium content 25 wt.% was produced by filtering of aluminum-scandium melt through graphitized fabrics. The manufacturability of the centrifugation method for the production of aluminum-scandium, aluminum-yttrium and aluminum-zirconium rich master alloys was shown.
This research has been carried out in accordance with the governmental assignment, as well as the research plan by the Institute of Solid State Chemistry of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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