Electrochemical deposition of zinc from deep eutectic solvent on barrier alumina layers

By M. Starykevich and A.N. Salak and D.K. Ivanou and A.D. Lisenkov and M.L. Zheludkevich and M.G.S. Ferreira
Published in Electrochimica Acta NULL 2015

Abstract

The direct use of high-ordered porous templates of anodic aluminium oxide for formation of nanostructures via electrochemical deposition is difficult because the presence of the of barrier alumina layer in the bottom of pores. In this paper, zinc electrodeposition from a solution of ZnCl2 in a choline chloride/ethylene glycol eutectic mixture on dense alumina layers of different thicknesses was studied. In a potentiostatic regime, the deposition on a barrier layer was found to be hardly possible even when the layer is a native alumina film (about 2 nm thick). Choline and ethylene glycol form an adsorbed stable layer at the alumina/electrolyte interface and thereby block the access of zinc chloride anions to the electrode. It has been shown that zinc can be directly deposited on a barrier layer by means of application of a combined potential mode in which an \AC\ component of 50 mV superimposed on the \DC\ potential of ?1.6 V. Increasing the temperature of the eutectic solution allows zinc electrodeposition in a potentiostatic regime already at 50

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