Engineers from the National Energy Technology Lab and Carnegie Mellon University, both of Pittsburgh, have developed an ionic liquid solvent that enables a more cost-efficient, environmentally responsible method of electrodepositing aluminum on steel. The technology, which produces no toxic vapors, is based on a plating solution containing ionic liquids (salts in liquid state) in open vessels.
Aluminum is less toxic than most anti-corrosion coating materials, but it cannot be plated in the presence of water, making it much more difficult to apply. In addition, conventional technology for aluminum coatings requires an inert atmosphere and a toxic chemical called toluene at elevated temperatures as a solvent, requiring it to be carried out in sealed vessels. In the new process, aluminum is electrodeposited by standard equipment available in most electroplating shops.
The innovation has been licensed by LumiShield, a Pittsburgh-based CMU spin-off company based on the new technology. LumiShield specializes in corrosion-resistant metal products that are less expensive and less environmentally harmful than current approaches. In addition, the process can be altered to produce a variety of properties and finishes that meet specifications for a range of applications.
LumiShield’s Hunaid Nulwala, one of the technology’s inventors, said that the technology has great potential for reducing the costs of protecting products from corrosion while eliminating some difficult environmental hazards.
