Electrodeposition of aluminum-carbon nanotube composite from room - Temperature molten salt electrolyte

Abstract

The aluminum-carbon nanotube composite (Al-CNT composite) much improves the properties of aluminum such as the toughness and the electrical conductivity. However, the manufacturing procedure for producing the Al-CNT composite requires multistage processes. We obtained electrolytically the Al-CNT composite coating from a 66.7 mol%AlCl3-33.3mol%l-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride bath containing CNT in a single process for the first time. We also visualized and clarified the process whereby solid particle such as CNT was co-deposited with the aluminum, and proved the co-depositing mechanism that previously had been understood only theoretically and conceptually. Namely, we show that the CNT was adsorbed on the cathode, and immediately seized by the initial depositing nucleus of the aluminum, then completely covered by both the grown nucleus and the newly generated initial depositing nuclei, and finally buried in the composite.