Study on the Ion Behavior of Solid-phase Reaction Synthesis of Iron Chromite at 1473K

The enrichment of chromium in the magnetic iron chromite (Fe(CrxFe1-x)2O4) phase is crucial for the recovery and recycling of chromium in stainless-steel pickling sludge. The kinetics and reaction mechanism of the solid-phase reaction between Fe3O4 and Cr2O3 were investigated using the diffusion couple method at 1473 K. Not only the diffusion behavior of Fe+2 ions and Cr3+ ions was elucidated, but also the solid solution behavior of Fe3+ ions was discussed clearly. The microscopic morphology of the diffusion couple and the change in the concentrations of Fe and Cr cations across the diffusion layers were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The self-diffusion coefficients of cations were calculated based on the concentration profiles of Fe and Cr, with the results indicating that the self-diffusion coefficient of the Fe ions was consistently higher than that of the Cr ions. Additionally, a mixture of Fe3O4 and Cr2O3 was annealed at 1373–1473 K for 1–5 h, and the kinetic parameters were calculated by studying the phase content of the product. The phase content of Fe(CrxFe1-x)2O4 in the product was determined by Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction data, revealing that an activation energy (E) of 177.20 kJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor (B) of 610.78 min-1 of the solid-phase reaction that produced the Fe(CrxFe1-x)2O4 spinel.