Monnens Wouter, Deferm Clio, Sniekers Jeroen, Fransaer Jan, Binnemans Koen
KU Leuven, Department of Materials Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, bus 2450, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
Chem Commun (Camb). 2019 Apr 18;55(33):4789-4792. doi: 10.1039/c8cc10254f.
The electrochemical behaviour and deposition of indium in electrolytes composed of 0.4 mol dm-3 In(Tf2N)3 and 0.4 mol dm-3 InCl3 in the solvents 1,2-dimethoxyethane and poly(ethylene glycol) (average molecular mass of 0.400 kg mol-1, PEG400) was investigated. Indium(i) was identified as the intermediate species that disproportionated to indium(iii) and indium(0) nanoparticles. The presence of nanoparticles was verified by TEM analysis. SEM analysis showed that deposits obtained at room temperature from 1,2-dimethoxyethane were rough, while spherical structures were formed in PEG400 at 160 °C.
