Electrodeposition of Some Selective Metals Belonging to Light, Refractory and Noble Metals from Ionic Liquid Electrolytes

Abstract

Ionic liquids are steadily attracting interests throughout a recent decade and their application is expanding into various fields including electrochemistry due to their unique properties such as non-volatility, inflammability, low toxicity, good ionic conductivity, wide electrochemical potential window and so on. These features make ionic liquids become an alternative solution for electrodeposition of metals that cannot be electroplated in aqueous electrolytes. In this review, we classify investigated metals into three categories, which are light (Li, Mg), refractory (Ti, Ta) and noble (Pd, Pt, Au) metals, rather than covering the exhaustive list of metals and try to update the recent development in this area. In electrodeposition of light metals, granular fine Li particles were successfully obtained while the passivation of electrodeposited Mg layers is an obstacle to reversible deposition-dissolution process of Mg. In the case of refractory metals, the quality of Ta and Ti deposit particles was effectively improved with addition of LiF and pyrrole, respectively. In noble metal category, EMIM TFSA ionic liquid as an electrolyte for Au electrodeposition was proven to be effective and BMP TFSA ionic liquid developed a smooth Pd deposit. Pt nanoparticle production from ionic liquid droplet in aqueous solution can be cost-effective and display an excellent electrocatalytic activity.