Electrodeposition of aluminum and aluminum-magnesium alloys at room temperature

Electrodeposition of aluminum from benzene-tetrahydrofuran-Al Cl3-Li Al H4 was studied at room temperature. Galvanostatic electrolysis was used to investigate the effect of various parameters on deposit morphology and crystal size, including current density, temperature, molar ratio of benzene/tetrahydrofuran and stirring speed. The deposit microstructure was adjusted by changing the parameters, and the optimum operating conditions were determined. Dense, bright and adherent aluminum coatings were obtained over a wide range of current densities(10-25 m A/cm2), molar ratio of benzene and tetrahydrofuran(4:1 to 7:8) and stirring speeds(200-500 r/min). Smaller grain sizes and well-adhered deposits were obtained at lower temperatures. Aluminum-magnesium alloys could potentially be used as hydrogen storage materials. A novel method for Al-Mg deposition was proposed by using pure Mg anodes in the organic solvents system benzene-tetrahydrofuran-Al Cl3-Li Al H4. XRD shows that the aluminum-magnesium alloys are mainly Al3Mg2 and Al12Mg17.