Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a viable means to add corrosion protection to copper metal. Ultrathin films of AlO, TiO, ZnO, HfO, and ZrO were deposited on copper metal using ALD, and their corrosion protection properties were measured using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). Analysis of ∼50 nm thick films of each metal oxide demonstrated low electrochemical porosity and provided enhanced corrosion protection from aqueous NaCl solution. The surface pretreatment and roughness was found to affect the extent of the corrosion protection. Films of AlO or HfO provided the highest level of initial corrosion protection, but films of HfO exhibited the best coating quality after extended exposure. This is the first reported instance of using ultrathin films of HfO or ZrO produced with ALD for corrosion protection, and both are promising materials for corrosion protection.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of vanadium oxide is a viable means to add pseudocapacitive layers to porous carbon electrodes. Two commercial activated carbon materials with different surface areas and pore structures were acid treated and coated by V2O5 ALD using vanadium triisopropoxide and water at 150 °C. The V2O5 ALD process was characterized at various temperatures to confirm saturated ALD growth conditions. Capacitance and electrochemical impedance analysis of subsequently constructed electrochemical capacitors (ECs) showed improved charge storage for the ALD coated electrodes, but the extent of improvement depended on initial pore structure. The ALD of V2O5 onto mesoporous carbon increased the capacitance by up to 46% after 75 ALD cycles and obtained a maximum pseudocapacitance of 540 F/g­(V2O5) after 25 ALD cycles, while maintaining low electrical resistance, high columbic efficiency, and a high cycle life. However, adding V2O5 ALD to microporous carbons with pore diameters of <11 Å showed far less improvement, likely due to “blocking off” of the micropores and reducing the accessible surface area. Results show that ALD is a viable means to construct high-performance supercapacitors from activated carbon which is the basis for commercial products, and a clear understanding of carbon electrode pore structure, layer conformality, and layer thickness are necessary to fully optimize performance.