Preparation of Pure Fused Lithium Chloride-Potassium Chloride Eutectic Solvent

Hydrolytic decomposition occurs during the fusion of a eutectic mixture of lithium chloride‐potassium chloride containing traces of moisture if the fusion conditions are not controlled. The resultant contamination by hydroxyl ion greatly lowers the utility of this mixture as a fused salt solvent. The effectiveness of various procedures used for preparation of the fused salt solvent was followed by observation of the characteristic polarographic residual current using a platinum microelectrode. A preparative method is described which involves drying the mixture under moderate vacuum, fusion under anhydrous hydrogen chloride, and removal of the hydrogen chloride from the melt.