Measurement of Oxygen Potential in Molten Oxides and Its Application to Viscosity Studies

In high-temperature pyrometallurgical and glass production processes, the oxygen potential of molten oxides is critical for controlling the quality and properties of metal and glass.Especially in molten oxides containing transition metals, oxygen potential determines the distribution of their oxidation states, which significantly impacts key material properties such as viscosity, electrical characteristics, and optical absorption of the melt.This study utilized oxygen sensor to measure the oxygen potential of molten oxides in a TiO 2 slag process, analyzing the changes in oxygen potential with the addition of B 2 O 3 flux.Based on the oxygen potential data obtained through electromotive force (EMF) measurements, the activities of transition metal (Fe, Ti) oxides were thermodynamically calculated.Experimental results confirmed that the oxygen potential of the molten oxide changed with B 2 O 3 addition, consequently affecting the activities of FeO, TiO 2 , and Ti 2 O 3 .Furthermore, the correlation between the activity changes of individual oxides due to oxygen potential variations and the structural changes in the molten