The electrodeposition of tin from two ionic liquids (ILs) containing the 1‐butyl‐1‐methylpyrrolidinium cation ([Py1,4]+) and the trifluoromethylsulfonate (TfO−) or dicyanamide (DCA−) anion is investigated by cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared (IR) spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. Cyclic voltammetry is employed to evaluate the electrochemical behaviour of SnCl2 in the two ILs, and IR spectroscopy is used to study the difference in the complexation of SnCl2 in the two ILs. The electrodeposition of tin is also studied in [EMIm]DCA ([EMIm]+=1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium), for the purpose of comparison. The morphology of the electrodeposited tin from the different ILs is investigated by SEM, which shows that the morphology of the tin deposits changes upon changing the IL. Agglomerated tin deposits are obtained on gold and copper from [Py1,4]TfO. Tin dendrites were obtained both from [Py1,4]DCA and [EMIm]DCA. This study reveals that a change in the ionic composition (anion) of the IL can influence the morphology of electrodeposits of tin and presumably of other elements and compounds.
We report the template‐free electrodeposition of SnSi nanowires from the ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐1‐methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethylsulfonate, [Py1,4]TfO, containing SnCl2 and SiCl4. The electrochemical behavior of the employed electrolyte was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry. The obtained nanowire films were characterized by SEM/EDX, XRD, UV spectroscopy, and XPS. The results show that freestanding and hair‐like SnSi nanowires can be obtained through potentiostatic electrodeposition at different potentials after running cyclic voltammetry. The XPS and EDX results reveal the composition of the films and show that SnSi co‐deposits are formed. XRD patterns indicate the formation of amorphous Si and no clear indication of the formation of a SnSi alloy. The band gap of the deposited film was determined from the UV spectrum to be 1.55 eV.
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