Electroless plating of aluminum using diisobutyl aluminum hydride as liquid reducing agent in room-temperature ionic liquid

We investigated an electroless aluminum plating based on using AlCl3–1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AlCl3–EMIC) ionic liquid with diisobutyl aluminum hydride (DIBAH) as a liquid reducing agent. The plating film was analyzed by measurements of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES). Consequently, a thick aluminum plating film with high uniformity was prepared from AlCl3–EMIC with DIBAH. No impurity phases were detected. Moreover, we discussed the reaction mechanism of the electroless aluminum plating.