Electrodeposition of aluminium foils on carbon electrodes in low temperature ionic liquid

Abstract

To inhibit dendrite formation for aluminium electrodeposition in room-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte, a promising method for electrodeposition of non-dendritic aluminium foils on carbon cathodes is investigated. The effect of current density, deposition time, temperature, and cathode materials on the deposit morphology of aluminium foils in AlCl₃–1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride (AlCl₃–[Bmim]Cl) ionic liquid electrolyte was also studied. The prepared aluminium foils are compact, bright and easy to peel off from the carbon electrodes after electrodeposition. The experimental results show that the high current density and low electrowinning temperature is responsible for the compactness of aluminium foils. The intensity of the (200) plane enhances with the increase of current density. Cathodic current efficiencies of the electrodeposition process are from 79% to 87%. The mechanisms of electrodeposition of non-dendritic aluminium foils in ionic liquids are proposed.