High current density electrodeposition from silver complex ionic liquids

Abstract

Liquid metal salts are electrolytes with the highest possible metal concentration for electrodeposition, because the metal ion is an integral part of the solvent. This paper introduces the new ionic silver complexes [Ag(MeCN)(4)](2)[Ag(Tf(2)N)(3)], [Ag(MeCN)][Tf(2)N] and [Ag(EtIm)(2)][Tf(2)N], where MeCN stands for acetonitrile, EtIm for 1-ethylimidazole and Tf(2)N is bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. These complexes have been characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, single crystal X-ray crystallography, thermogravimetrical analysis, Raman spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. [Ag(MeCN)(4)](2)[Ag(Tf(2)N)(3)] is a room temperature ionic liquid. Smooth silver layers of good quality could be deposited from it, at current densities of up to 25 A dm(-2) in unstirred solutions. [Ag(EtIm)(2)][Tf(2)N] melts at 65 °C and can be used as an electrolyte for silver deposition above this temperature. [Ag(MeCN)][Tf(2)N] has a melting point that is too high to be useful in electrodeposition. Addition of thiourea or 1H-benzotriazole to the electrolyte decreased the surface roughness of the silver coatings. The morphology of the metal layers was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Adsorption of 1H-benzotriazole on the silver metal surface has been proven by Raman spectroscopy. This work shows the usefulness of additives in improving the quality of metal films electrodeposited from ionic liquids.

Liquid Nickel Salts: Synthesis, Crystal Structure Determination, and Electrochemical Synthesis of Nickel Nanoparticles

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13] Several examples of electrodepositiono fm etals from liquid metal salts can be found in the literature. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Our research group has obtainedv ery promising resultsf or the electrodeposition of copper, [23][24][25] silver, [26][27][28][29][30] palladium [31] and lithium. [32] Metal coatings of ag ood quality were achieved at very high current densities,e ven withoutt he use of additives.…”

Structures and Electronic Properties of Transition Metal-Containing Ionic Liquids: Insights from Ion Pairs

“…Incorporation of metals into the cations or anions clearly can improve the dissolution of metal salts into ILs. 16 −18 In recent years, transition metal-containing ionic liquids (TM-ILs) have attracted intensive research interest, because of their many advantages over traditional ILs, such as a high solubility of metal salts, an unexpectedly strong response to an additional magnetic field, and a wonderful color rendering property. 19,20 Development of TM-ILs thus provides a great opportunity for task-specific ILs, which are promising alternatives to conventional ILs.…”

Liquid silver tris(perfluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate salts as new media for propene/propane separation

“…Low melting silver salts have been studied by the group of Binnemans for electrodeposition purposes. [18][19][20][21][22] It has been shown that by adding different ligands to the silver center, the melting point of usually high melting silver salts can be significantly reduced by disturbing the crystal packing. Depending on the number and structure of the ligand in combination with a suitable anion, melting points below 100 Synthetic procedures for the silver propene complexes…”