Effects of additive NaI on electrodeposition of Al coatings in AlCl3-NaCl-KCl molten salts

Effects of NaI as an additive on electrodeposition of Al coatings in AlCl3-NaCl-KCl (80-10-10 wt-%) molten salts electrolyte at 150 °C were investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results reveal that addition of NaI in the electrolyte intensifies cathodic polarization, inhibits growth of Al deposits and increases number density of charged particles. The electrodeposition of Al coatings in the AlCl3-NaCl-KCl molten salts electrolyte proceeds via three-dimensional instantaneous nucleation which however exhibits irrelevance with NaI. Galvanostatic deposition results indicate that NaI could facilitate the formation of uniform Al deposits. A compact coating consisting of Al deposits with an average particle size of 3 µm was obtained at a current density of 50 mA·cm−2 in AlCl3-NaCl-KCl molten salts electrolyte with 10 wt-% NaI. XRD analysis confirmed that NaI could contribute to the formation of Al coating with a preferred crystallographic orientation along (220) plane.