Papers by Author: Derek J. Fray

Abstract: The FFC-Cambridge process is a molten salt electrochemical deoxidation method that was invented at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy of the University of Cambridge one decade ago. It is a generic technology that allows the direct conversion of metal oxides into the corresponding metals through cathodic polarisation of the oxide in a molten salt electrolyte based on calcium chloride. The process is rather universal in its applicability, and numerous studies on metals, semimetals, alloys and intermetallics have since been performed at the place of its invention and worldwide. The electro-winning of titanium metal is a particularly rewarding target because of the disadvantages of the existing extraction methods. This article summarises the research work performed on the FFC-Cambridge process at the University of Cambridge and its industrial partners with a focus on the electro-winning of titanium metal from titanium dioxide. Topics addressed encompass the invention of the process, early proof-of-concept work, the identification of the reaction pathway, and the investigation and optimisation of the key process parameters. Also discussed are aspects of technology transfer and some of the development work undertaken to date.

Abstract: A systematic comparison of single and binary metal oxide TiO2, TiO2-Ga2O3, TiO2-Er2O3 and TiO2-Ta2O5 gas sensors with nanocrystalline and mesoporous microstructure, prepared by solgel route, was conducted. The gas sensitivity was increased by secondary phase introduction into TiO2 film via two mechanisms, firstly through the inhibition of anatase-to-rutile transformation, since the anatase phase accommodates larger amounts of adsorbed oxygen, and secondly through the retardation of grain growth, since the higher surface area provides more active sites for gas molecule adsorption. The binary metal oxides exhibited a remarkable response towards low concentrations of CO and NO2 gases at low operating temperature of 200°C, resulting in increasing thermal stability of sensing films as well as decreasing their power consumption. The calibration curves revealed that all sensors followed the power law ( B gas A S ] [ = ) (where S is sensor response, coefficients A and B are constants and [gas] is gas concentration). The response magnitude of the sensors obtained in this work is superior to TiO2-based sensors reported in previous studies.