Study on electrodeposition of Al on W–Cu substrate in AlCl3 + LiAlH4 solutions

Electrodepositing Al coatings on W90Cu10 foils in AlCl3 + LiAlH4 Tetrahydrofuran–benzene electrolyte was reported in this work. Effects of variations in molar ratios of AlCl3/LiAlH4, current density and plating time on surface morphology and crystal orientations were studied, and the optimal values of three parameters were preliminarily gained. Results showed that Al coatings displayed dense and cone-shaped micro-crystallites, and the particle size of coatings increased obviously with increasing current density or decreasing the proportion of AlCl3. It was indicated that all of the electrodeposits exhibited a strong preferred (111), (220) crystal orientation, and the (220) crystal orientation became strong along with electroplating time and current density, but weak with the proportion of AlCl3 in baths. On the contrary, the changes of the (111) orientation exhibited an opposite trend.