ROLE OF SOME COMPLEXING AGENTS DURING ELECTRODEPOSITION OF TELLURIUM

The uses of electrodeposition processes for the production of telluriu m as a pure metal from different baths containing tellurous acid with some suitable additives have been investigated. The quantity and quali ty of the deposited metal are found to be dependent on the type of the baths used. The effects of different parameters such as kind and conc entration of acids, current density, temperature, electrode type (plat inum and graphite) and metal to complexing agent concentration ratio o n the cathodic efficiency and on the quality of deposit have been disc ussed. The interfering effect of some cations and anions has also been studied. Spectrophotometric, AAS and X-ray analyses revealed the puri ty of separated deposit to be 99.9%. An analytical application for pre concentration and separation of tellurium from its natural ores and al loys using the proposed electrolytic method is found to be satisfactor y.