Robust Aluminum Electrodeposition from Ionic Liquid Electrolytes Containing Light Aromatic Naphta as Additive

摘要

Aluminum electrodeposition can be carried out from several ionic liquid electrolyte formulations. Nevertheless, this plating process has not been industrialized so far because of the durability of the electrolytes and because the Al coatings obtained are non‐fully homogeneous in terms of coating morphology and thickness distribution. In this work we electrodeposited Al coatings from a 3‐butyl‐1‐ethylimidazolium tetrachloroaluminate electrolyte additivated with increasing concentrations of a new cost‐effective additive: light aromatic naphtha solvent. Firstly, electrolytes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, where changes in the electrochemistry of the process were identified. Then, surface characterization showed that Al coatings morphology turned out to be smoother, more homogeneous and more compact with increasing additive concentration. Furthermore, the process was scaled up to flat plates of 18?cm 2 area and also on 25?cm 2 parts designed with straight corners to demonstrate both the optimization of the electrolytic bath performance and its throwing power enhancement. The winner takes it Al : The use of light aromatic naphtha as a new additive for Al plating from 3‐butyl‐1‐ethylimidazolium tetrachloroaluminate electrolyte is presented in this work. Added to the electrolyte in concentrations from 2.4 to 9.7?mmol, the additive enhances the throwing power of the electrolyte and Al deposits turned out to be smoother and showed better adhesion to the substrate.