Process, influence factors and mechanism of direct generation of zinc metal using laser to irradiate ZnS
(1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China;
2. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China)
2. Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China)
Abstract: The generation process, influence of the laser parameters on the production of zinc metal (Zn0), and the mechanism of interaction between the laser and ZnS were studied. It was observed that an increase in the number of S defects enhanced the quantity of Zn2+ ejected from the ZnS crystals, which increased the possibility of Zn2+ bonding with electrons to produce Zn0. A maximum Zn0 content of 9.3% in the products was detected upon changing the laser parameters. Upon analyzing the changes in the surface topography during the laser interaction with ZnS, it was shown that the interaction mechanism between laser and ZnS had a synergistic effect comprised of photochemical and photothermal processes, in which the photochemical mechanism predominated.
Key words: laser metallurgy; sulfur defects; surface topography; photochemical reduction; zinc metal