Electrodeposition in Ionic Liquids

Electrochemistry is an economic technique for obtaining coatings on substrates of complicated geometrical shape. For layers that cannot be deposited from aqueous baths, ionic liquids (ILs) are the media of choice. If ILs is to be employed for electrodeposition on a larger scale, it is highly probable that additives in conjunction with pulse plating techniques will be used. To improve the deposition rates and plating process efficiency, special ILs have been designed that contain the metal species to be plated. With such ILs, very high current densities can be employed, which can considerably reduce plating times and thus costs. A key aspect that should be kept in mind is the effect of impurities. These could be byproducts arising from the synthesis of ILs (such as Li) or traces of water. The precursors that one can use in the deposition process are also very important, as well as the anion/cation combination employed.