Abstract:
Over the last few decades, ionic liquids (ILs) have been the focus of considerable research in the field of electrochemistry for their exceptional physio-chemical characteristics. In this study, the electrical conductivity of imidazolium-based ionic liquid was investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Aluminum chloride (AlCl3) was mixed with three different kinds of imidazolium ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIC), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMIC), and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (HMIC), individually. The electrical conductivity of these chloroaluminates was determined as a function of temperature and molar ratio. For AlCl3:BMIC and AlCl3:EMIC, electrical conductivity decreases with an increase in AlCl3 content, whereas electrical conductivity increases for AlCl3: HMIC with an increase in AlCl3. Electrical conductivity increases with temperature for all three ILs systems. Following this, the effects of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and temperature on the electrical conductivity of ILs systems were studied. In this case, electrical conductivity for all ionic liquid systems increases rises to a certain TiCl4 ratio and then decreases with the additional TiCl4, and electrical conductivity also increases with temperature. Activation energy was also calculated from electrical conductivity data. The obtained AlCl3:BMIC electrical conductivity data was used to simulate the current density and contact resistance for aluminum refining electrochemical cell by ANSYS Fluent. When Al metal matrix composite anode was used, a consistent electrode-electrolyte contact resistance (0.041 m2) was found regardless of applied voltage. But the contact resistance was not consistent with applied potential when Al2020 was chosen as anode.
