Aluminum Deposition and Nucleation on Nitrogen‐Incorporated Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon Electrodes in Ambient Temperature Chloroaluminate Melts

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The electrodeposition of aluminum on the atomically smooth nitrogen‐incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (taC:N) electrode in ambient temperature chloroaluminate melts has been interpreted using a prior model of three‐dimensional diffusion controlled nucleation and growth. Aluminum requires an unusually high overpotential for nucleation on taC:N because of the low density of intrinsic active sites, which act as critical nuclei during the initial stage of deposition. The current‐time characteristics of nucleation on taC:N show a strong dependency on overpotential. Generation of additional, overpotential‐induced active sites imposes a partial progressive nature on the overall nucleation process, resulting in a slight deviation from the limiting behavior of an ideal instantaneous nucleation model. © 2000 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.