Room-temperature ionic liquid for lanthanum electrodeposition

In this letter, we report for the first time lanthanum electrodeposition in ambient atmosphere using 1-octyl-1-methyl-pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ionic liquid. This electrolyte exhibits an electrochemical window of 4.8 V with a strong cathodic stability and a low hygroscopic character that allows electrodeposition without the need of an inert atmosphere. A 350 nm thick lanthanum film was obtained after 2 h potentiostatic deposition. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.