Spectroscopic studies of the ionic liquid during the electrodeposition of Al-Ti alloy in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride melt

A new approach for the formation of Al-Ti alloy in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EmimCl) was investigated. The dissolution of titanium electrodes in presence of EmimClAlCl(3) was performed at various potentials to understand the effect of voltage on the reaction rate. It was observed that at low potentials, the presence of titanium hinders the reaction and diminishes the formation of aluminum and aluminum-titanium alloy at the cathode. However, at higher potentials there was substantial formation of Al3Ti alloy. To understand the reaction mechanism during the electrolysis, the electrolyte was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. The material on the cathode was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques. From the above analysis it was found that titanium forms a complex with aluminum and also assists in formation of AlCl4-phase in the acidic ionic liquid. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.