Patent ID: 7462271

Claim:
A method of making an aluminum reduction cell component having a stabilized surface that is wettable by molten aluminum, which comprises mixing together a carbonaceous material, TiB 2 and up to 25% by weight of an additive consisting of an intimate mixture of TiO 2 and B 2 O 3 and baking the mixture into a cell component having a baked surface provided with pores, wherein said TiB 2 is used in an amount sufficient to make the baked surface wettable by molten aluminium, and wherein at least one of said TiO 2 and B 2 O 3 has a higher melting temperature than the baking temperature, whereby when the cell component is contacted with molten aluminum, the aluminium wets the baked surface, penetrates the pores therein, and reacts with the additive to form a dense phase having low solubility in aluminium that seals the pores.