Electroless process for depositing refractory metals
| DWPI Title: Electroless process for depositing refractory metal, by depositing sacrificial coating on surface of substrate, and immersing coated substrate in solution containing dissolved refractory metal ions, with sacrificial coating being oxidized |
| Abstract: The invention provides an inexpensive, scalable process for coating materials with a film of a refractory metal. As an example, the immersion process can comprise the deposition of a sacrificial zinc coating which is galvanically displaced by the ether-mediated reduction of oxophilic WCl6 to form a complex WOxCly film, and subsequently annealed to crystalline, metallic tungsten. The efficacy of this process was demonstrated on a carbon foam electrode, showing a 50% decrease in electrode resistance and significant gains in electrochemical performance. This process enables voltage efficiency gains for electrodes in batteries, redox flow batteries, and industrial processes where high conductivity and chemical stability are paramount. |
| Use: Electroless process for depositing refractory metal. |
| Advantage: Effectively lowers the infrared ohmic losses of the cell and increases the overall electrochemical performance. |
| Novelty: The electroless process involves?depositing a sacrificial coating having an electrochemical reduction potential lower than the refractory metal on a surface of a substrate, and immersing the coated substrate in a solution containing dissolved refractory metal ions. The sacrificial coating is oxidized and the dissolved refractory metal ions are reduced onto the surface of the substrate to provide a refractory metal-containing coating on the surface. The refractory metal includes molybdenum, niobium, or tantalum. The sacrificial coating includes lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, or manganese. |
| Filed: 12/9/2016 |
| Application Number: US15374775A |
| Tech ID: SD 14064.0 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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