Electrodeposition of Zn–Ta Coating from DMI–ZnCl₂–TaCl₅ Solvate Ionic Liquids

Abstract

In this work, the Zn–Ta coating was electrodeposited from DMI–ZnCl₂–TaCl₅ solvate ionic liquid. The electrochemical reaction was studied by cyclic voltammetry using titanium as working electrode. The onset potential of zinc and tantalum co-deposition was −0.7 V (vs. Ag). Moreover, potentiostatic electrodeposition experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of potential and temperature on the morphology of the coating. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that the coating obtained by electrodeposition at −1.6 V (vs. Ag) and 353 K was composed of Zn, Ta, ZnO, and Ta₂O₅. The mass fraction of element tantalum was 6.21 %, and metallic tantalum accounted for 11.54 % of the mass of element tantalum. The corrosion current density of the Zn–Ta coating was 1.83 × 10⁻⁴ A cm⁻².