A Novel Method for Preparation of Al‐Ni Reactive Coatings by Incorporation of Ni Nanoparticles into an Al Matrix Fabricated by Electrodeposition in AlCl₃:[EMIm]Cl (1.5:1) Ionic Liquid Containing Ni Nanoparticles

Al/Ni reactive coatings were fabricated via electrochemical deposition at different applied voltages for reactive bonding application. AlCl3:[EMIm]Cl (1.5:1) ionic liquid electrolyte was used as source of Al, whereas Ni was in the bath and incorporated into final coatings as nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy reveal a homogeneous Ni particle dispersion, as well as a high amount of particle incorporation into the Al matrix. A maximum of ∼ 37 wt% (∼ 22 at%) of Ni was detected via atomic absorption spectroscopy in the Al/Ni coating deposited at ‐0.1 V from an electrolyte containing 20 g/L of Ni nanoparticles. Previous literature showed that for bonding application an ideal concentration would be around 50 at% of Ni and 50 at% Al. However, this has been achieved using high vacuum, time consuming processes and costly techniques like evaporation and magnetron sputtering. The electrochemical deposition used in this work represents a more cost‐efficient approach which has not been reported up to date for the aforementioned application. The reactivity of the coatings was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry. Here, an exothermic reaction was detected upon the mixing of Al and Ni occurring at high temperatures.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.