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Effects of lithium bis(oxalato)borate on electrochemical stability of [Emim][Al2Cl7] ionic liquid for aluminum electrolysis

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Abstract

Electrodeposition of aluminum from ionic liquids has been considered a promising approach to low-temperature aluminum electrolysis. In this study, we first investigated the electrochemical stability of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Emim][Al2Cl7]) electrolyte, which is a typically used electrolyte for aluminum electrodeposition. It was found that part of imidazole ions decomposed on the cathode during the electrolysis process, especially when the temperature was at or over 353 K. In order to enhance the stability of the electrolyte, we further studied the effects of lithium salt and lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB), on the electrochemical stability of the [Emim][Al2Cl7] ionic liquid system. It was found that the electrochemical window of the electrolyte was broadened from 2.59 to 2.74 V at 373 K by addition of 1 mol% LiBOB. With the existence of LiBOB, the reduction current density of Al2Cl7 - increased before −0.58 V and the electrodissolution of Al was more complete. The possible mechanism on the LiBOB increases the stability of the electrolyte systems also discussed based on our theoretical calculations.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the 973 Project of China (No. 2015CB251401) and the National Nature Science Foundations of China (No. 21276257, 91534109, 91434203).

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  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, People’s Republic of China

    Haiyan Lang, Junling Zhang, Yanhong Kang, Shimou Chen & Suojiang Zhang

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  1. Haiyan Lang
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  2. Junling Zhang
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Correspondence to Shimou Chen.

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Lang, H., Zhang, J., Kang, Y. et al. Effects of lithium bis(oxalato)borate on electrochemical stability of [Emim][Al2Cl7] ionic liquid for aluminum electrolysis. Ionics 23, 959–966 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-016-1889-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-016-1889-5

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