Aluminium Underpotential Deposition from AlCl3+NaCl Melts and Alloy Formation with Vanadium Substrate

Abstract

Aim of this work was to study underpotential deposition of aluminium onto polycrystalline vanadium electrode from equimolar AlCl3+NaCl melt at 473, 523 and 573 K. It was found that aluminium was deposited and incorporated into polycrystalline vanadium electrode at potentials more positive than the Al reverse potential. Applied electrochemical techniques: linear sweep voltammetry and potentiostatic deposition/ galvanostatic striping, showed clear evidence of formation of three intermetallic compounds whose presence depends on temperature and applied deposition time. Deposits were studied via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry and X-ray spectroscopy (EDS and EDX), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).