Journal articles and book contributions

Electrochemical co-deposition of gallium and titanium on copper and gold substrates from the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate was investigated in the temperature range from 25 ˚C to 140 ˚C. Crystalline gallium-titanium alloys were obtained by annealing the deposits at 800 ˚C for 16 h. X-ray diffraction performed on the annealed specimens confirmed the formation of crystalline phases. In situ quartz crystal microbalance experiments gave further insight into the initial stages of gallium-titanium co-deposition. One can tune the composition of the films by changing the deposition potential or the deposition technique. Gallium rich films with more than 60 wt% were obtained by potentiostatic depositions at 140 ˚C. We could show that no elemental titanium can be electrodeposited from bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium(IV) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate) in 1-butyl-1-methyl- pyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate. The addition of GaCl 3 to the electrolyte facilitated the reduction of Ti(IV) species.

Planning the design and discussing the results are routine tasks carried out daily by researchers all over the world. This study is focused on making these stages of research time- and cost-efficient without affecting the reliability of the data. Following the principles of the Taguchi method brings such a result. This approach ensures the quality of research by optimisation of the experimental procedure. In the presented work, the Taguchi method solves an exemplary research problem of the corrosion process of aluminium current collector in lithium-ion batteries. Operating factors selected for the optimisation include temperature (25, 35, 45˚C), the volume ratio of ethylene carbonate to diethyl carbonate in the solvent (1:1, 1:2, 1:4), and type of lithium salt (LiPF6, LiTFSI, LiBOB). Using three operating factors with three levels of variability requires data assembly in an orthogonal array L9 with nine experimental runs in total. In this study, the Taguchi approach is validated by performing a full-factorial procedure of twenty-seven individual experiments. The response of tested systems is analysed by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which enables the evaluation of corrosion parameters in each experimental run. The assessed parameters indicate the intensity of the aluminium corrosion depending on the operating conditions. These conditions cause unwanted variance, which accelerates corrosion and lowers the life expectancy of lithium-ion batteries. The Taguchi signal-to-noise-ratio analysis reveals that the most significant variation is caused by the lithium salt in the electrolyte (S/N LiBOB ≥ LiPF6 > LiTFSI). Temperature and alkyl carbonates play a secondary role. The Taguchi prediction method is also consistent with the full-factorial approach, which warrants reliability.

Bulk high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) that act as a trap field magnet establish a novel type of magnetic field source, which is significantly different from that of a permanent magnet or solenoid; therefore, they can be potentially used in magnetic-force-based applications. However, the primary issues related to the commercial use of the bulk HTS technology are established on the enhancement of trapped magnetic fields, as well as their reliability and reproducibility at temperatures achievable with off-the-shelf cryocoolers. This study presents experimental investigations on the strong trapped magnetic fields observed in commercial Y-Ba-Cu-O bulk HTSs produced as a double-sample stack, a cylindrical bulk, and a ring-shaped bulk. Consequently, a reliable and reproducible magnetic field of 9.5 T at 50 K was trapped in commercial Y-Ba-Cu-O assembled as a double-sample stack. In this case, shrink-fit encapsulation with either aluminum or stainless steel tube ensured equally effective reinforcement. Higher magnetization, although accompanied with partial flux jumps, yielded a trapped field of 16.85 T at 30 K, which is comparable to the reported record trapped fields. Finally, a maximum trapped field of 9.78 T - the strongest trapped field reported to date - was attained in the 6 mm hollow space of the ring-shaped bulk HTS.