title: Electrochemical behaviour of iron in a third-generation ionic liquid: cyclic voltammetry and micromachining investigations.
abstract: The electrochemical behaviour of Fe in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Emim](+)Ntf2(-)) and mixtures with Cl(-) is studied with the aim of investigating the applicability of ionic liquids (IL) for the electrochemical machining of iron. Whereas in pure IL iron could not be significantly dissolved, the addition of Cl(-) enables the active dissolution with anodic current densities up to several mA cm(-2). Although several anodic peaks appear in the cyclic voltammograms (CV), the distinct assignment of those electrochemical processes remain difficult. In particular no proof for the formation of FeCl(x) (2-x) complexes during Fe dissolution are deduced from the CV, although such complexes are shown to be stable in the employed electrolyte. In addition, we present electrochemical drilling experiments with short potential pulses, which demonstrate that electrochemical machining of Fe is, in principle, possible in IL based electrolytes, even though hampered by slow machining speed.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Universität Karlsruhe (TH), Kaiserstr. 12, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Essam M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Moustafa
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fürbeth
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schuster