Electrodeposition of Titanium Aluminide (TiAl) Alloy from AlCl_3-BMIC Ionic Liquid at Low Temperature

摘要

Titanium and its intermetallic titanium aluminide (TiAl) alloys are technologically exciting materials due to their unique thermomechanical properties such as low density, excellent strength, and exceptional corrosion resistance. Herein, we demonstrate a low-cost route to electrodeposit TiAl alloy from liquid (IL) using a 2:1 molar ratio of aluminum chloride (AlCl_3) and l-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIC). The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) techniques were used to investigate the electrosynthesis parameters. The electrodeposition of phase-pure TiAl was accomplished on a copper cathode at a constant potential at 100 °C in a three-electrode configuration that involved Ti plate counter electrode (anode) as a sacrificial donor source of Ti ions in the IL and titanium or platinum wire as a reference electrode. The electrodeposited TiAl alloy electrodes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction methods. The electrodeposited TiAl alloy exhibited uniform, smooth, and compact morphology.