Application of Ionic Liquids in Aluminum and Alloy Electrodeposition

Ionic liquids have been considered as the solvent media to meet the needs of sustainable and green chemistry because of the characteristics of non-volatilization, non-combustion, high thermal stability, wide electrochemical window and so on. As a variety of active metals and alloys can be electrodeposited in ionic liquids at room temperature, ionic liquids have attracted much attention. In this review, we present the application progress of ionic liquids in electrodeposition of aluminum and aluminum alloy in recent years systematically. The types of ionic liquids used in electrodeposition of aluminum and aluminum alloy are classified. The mechanism of metal electrodeposition is summarized. The electrodeposition technology of aluminum with different morphologies as well as binary and ternary aluminum alloy is described in detail. Furthermore, the existing theoretical and technical problems on aluminum and alloy electrodeposition in ionic liquids are discussed, and the potential development direction is also prospected.