Activation mechanism of Sb2O3 during removal of cobalt from zinc sulphate solution

The E–pH diagram for the Co–Sb–H2O system indicates that antimony and cobalt combine to form an inter-metallic compound that enhances the thermodynamic driving force of removal of cobalt from zinc electrolyte solution by cementation with zinc powder. The results of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction show that antimony exists in the same form as nickel and cobalt which suggests that antimony and cobalt combine to form an inter-metallic compound CoSb. However, zinc exists in the form of basic zinc sulphate, zinc oxide and zinc. The activation mechanism of Sb2O3 is investigated in this paper.