The electrochemical behavior of gold was investigated by cyclic voltammetry in non-aqueous electrolyte. 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide(EMIMTFSI) was used as the electrolyte, because it has a wide electrochemical window ...
The electrochemical behavior of gold was investigated by cyclic voltammetry in non-aqueous electrolyte. 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide(EMIMTFSI) was used as the electrolyte, because it has a wide electrochemical window among the ionic liquids. TiCl4 dissolved in EMIMTFSI that was used for dissolution of electrode and AuCl3 dissolved in a mixture of EMIMTFSI and EMIMCl were used to supply the gold ions in the electrolyte. The cyclic voltammetry was conducted in three electrode cell that used the Au and Pt working electrode. The effect of the concentration of EMIMCl, the temperature and working electrode on the redox of gold in non-aqueous and the effect of additives on a current density were studied, respectively. The possibility of electrorefining of gold in ionic liquids and the synthesis of gold nanoparticle were investigated by potentiostatic method and pulse electrolysis, respectively. The effect of duty factor, pulse duration and operating temperature on the synthesis of gold nanoparticle were investigated. The composition, crystal structure and morphology of gold deposits were confirmed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy.
In the cyclic voltammetry results, it was found that the electrochemical oxidation and reduction of the gold was observed in both of the electrolyte. Since the gold electrode was dissolved in electrolyte and the gold ion dissolved was electrodeposited in the EMIMTFSI-TiCl4 system, the electrorefining of gold in non-aqueous electrolyte was possible. By pulse electrolysis, the gold nanoparticle was uniformly synthesized on cathode for and extremely short period of 10 ∼ 60 sec without any side reaction and contaminations. The size of gold nanoparticle was easily controllable in the range of 75 ∼ 150 nm by simply controlling pulse electrolysis variables.