Electrorefining of Indium Metal From Impure In-Sn Alloy in Fluoride Molten Salt

In this study, molten salt electrorefining was used to recover indium metal from In-Sn crude metal sourced from indium tin oxide (ITO) scrap. The electrolyte used was a mixture of eutectic LiF-KF salt and InF₃ initiator, melted and operated at 700°C. Voltammetric analysis was performed to optimize InF₃ content in the electrolyte, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to de-termine the redox potentials of In metal and the electrolyte. The optimum initiator concentration was 7 wt% of InF₃ , at which the diffusion coefficients were saturated. The reduction potential was controlled by applying constant current densities of 5, 10, and 15 mA/cm² using chronopotentiometry (CP) techniques. In metal from the In-Sn crude melt was deposited on the cathode surface and was collected in an alumina crucible.