Tantalum electrodeposition on glass-ceramic substrate – compositional and structural analyses

Electrodeposition of tantalum thin coating was attempted from a room temperature ionic liquid, BMP[Tf2N] in presence of dissolved TaF5 and LiF. The influence of deposition parameters, such as ionic liquid composition, substrate type, electrical potential or temperature upon structure and composition was observed. Cyclic voltammetry, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in conjunction with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were applied. The reversibility of the reduction processes was examined, and comparison made to deposition from molten salt systems.