Electrodeposition of Aluminium-Lithium Alloys for Cryo and Space Applications
The objective of the work was to develop aluminum alloys containing lithium, copper, and zirconium for aerospace applications. Moderately thick deposits of binary and ternary alloys of aluminum with lithium, copper and zirconium were successfully electrodeposited. This was achieved at room temperature through the use of low cost ionic liquid containing AlCl3 and triethylammine hydrochloride (Et3NHCl). Electroforming was performed on plastic substrates for real-time applications and found to be highly corrosion resistant, a feature extremely important in aerospace and marine applications. The deposited alloys were thoroughly analyzed for its morphology and crystallinity and was observed to be highly uniform and crystalline.
