Electrochemical synthesis of Ti₅Si₃ in CaCl ₂ melt

Ti₅Si₃ intermetallic compound was successfully prepared through electro-deoxidation in the molten calcium chloride at 900 °C. Constant voltage electro-deoxidation was conducted using a preformed TiO₂/SiO₂ cathode and a carbon anode. The product on the cathode was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results suggested that the electro-deoxidation reduction of TiO₂/SiO₂ composite was the following: TiO₂ was firstly reduced to be suboxide (Ti₂O₃) and then into the Ti, SiO₂ was converted to Si, then Si was reacted with Ti to form Ti₅Si₃.