Electrochemical co-deposition of Ti n+ phases with gold in ionic liquids.

The electro-deposition of titanium from two different classes of ionic liquids has been studied. Gold ions in solution have been used as an additive in order to provide a stable nucleation site for titanium to deposit on via a co-deposition process. Despite evidence from previous literature, it was found that it was not possible to reduce titanium from the +4 state to titanium (0) due to problems of redox cycling and solubility of reduced titanium species in the various ILs trialled. It was however found that gold was a very effective nucleating agent for these reduced titanium species and that successful mixed Ti(n+)/gold electro-deposits were obtained. The content of titanium in these species could be varied according to the conditions and IL used.