Electrodeposition of aluminium from ionic liquids: Part II - studies on the electrodeposition of aluminum from aluminum chloride (AICl3) - trimethylphenylammonium chloride (TMPAC) ionic liquids

This work presents the studies of the nucleation processes and surface morphology of aluminium electrodeposits obtained on tungsten (W) and aluminium (Al) electrodes from 2 : 1 molar ratio aluminium chloride (AlCl3)–trimethylphenylammonium chloride (TMPAC) ionic liquids. The deposition processes of aluminium on both W and Al substrates were controlled by an instantaneous nucleation with diffusion-controlled growth. The number densities of the nuclei involved were estimated from the chronoamperometric measurements. On W electrodes, the bulk deposition of aluminium was preceded by an underpotential deposition (UPD) of ca. 2 / 3 monolayer of aluminium. Dense aluminium electrodeposits were obtained on both W and Al substrates at potentials between − 0.10 and − 0.40 V vs. Al(III)/Al.