Electrochemical deposition of Cu and Ta from pyrrolidinium based ionic liquid

• Published in: Journal of applied electrochemistry 2015-07, Vol.45 (7), p.735-744
• Main Authors: Mais, Laura, Mascia, Michele, Vacca, Annalisa, Palmas, Simonetta, Delogu, Francesco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrochemistry; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Physical Chemistry; Research Article
• ISSN: 0021-891X; 1572-8838
• DOI: 10.1007/s10800-015-0824-1

The electrochemical deposition of tantalum and copper has been investigated in 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([BMP][TFSA]) on both boron doped diamond (BDD) and copper substrates in order to realize nanometric Cu–Ta bilayer deposits. Electrochemical experiments have been performed at 125 °C in a glove box, under nitrogen atmosphere. Galvanostatic runs and cyclic voltammograms performed at different scan rates have been carried out in order to determine the electroreduction path for tantalum and copper. Potentiostatic experiments were performed at the potential values corresponding to the voltammetric peaks and the samples obtained were analysed by SEM-EDX analyses. For both metals nanometric crystallites have been obtained. Cu–Ta deposits have been prepared by a dual bath technique and were constituted by fine crystallites with average sizes in the range 50–100 nm. The elemental maps indicate a different distribution of Cu–Ta depending on the substrates.