Conventional sulfide metallurgy suffers from SO x gas emission and high energy consumption, owing to the multiple-step extraction processes and high temperatures that are above the melting point of the extracted metals. Herein, liquid Cu 2 Sb alloy can be directly electrochemically extracted from the liquid Sb 2 S 3 -Cu 2 S with no sulfide oxides emission in eutectic NaCl-KCl molten electrolyte at 730 °C. The use of Sb 2 S 3 decreases the melting point of Cu 2 S and the Sb decreases the melting temperature of Cu. The Sb 2 S 3 -Cu 2 S mixture experiences three stages in the electrochemical desulfurization process: the insertion of Na + into liquid sulfides, the removal of S 2À and metallization, and finally the formation of uniform liquid Cu 2 Sb alloy. The Sb 2 S 3 -Cu 2 S can be completely electro-converted into Cu 2 Sb at 2.6 V for 6 hours. This study provides a straightforward and environmentally friendly route to electro-synthesize liquid alloys from their molten sulfide minerals.
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