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. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.