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    STUDIA CHEMIA - Issue no. 4(II) / 2009  
         
  Article:   COMPETING ELECTROCHEMICAL AND CHEMICAL DISSOLUTION OF ALUMINUM IN PHOTOPOLYMERIZED ACRYLIC HYDROGELS.

Authors:  JEREMY P. WILBURN, CHARLIE DURHAM, MADALINA CIOBANU, ADRIAN PATRUT, DANIEL A. LOWY. 		 
       
         
  Abstract:  Dissolution of aluminum in acrylic hydrogels was studied in printed ultra-thin galvanic cells, in open circuit potential, when only chemical corrosion occurred, and in the presence of external current flow, when the aluminium anode was electrochemically dissolved. By the appropriate design of the Al/hydrogel interface we were able to control the rate of electrochemical dissolution, a process driven by the applied voltage (upon short-circuiting the galvanic cell), and to avoid spontaneous chemical dissolution (and thus, maximizing the shelf life of devices in the absence of current flow). Aluminum anodes (thickness of 30-90 nm) were used in conjunction with a graphite or MnO2 cathode. Photopolymerized acrylic gels with incorporated inorganic or quaternary ammonium salts served as the supporting electrolyte. The appearance of the first localized chemical damage of the surface defined the shelf life of the cell, and typically was on the order of days. The choice of anion and cation incorporated in the hydrogel affected both the electrochemical and chemical dissolution of aluminum.

Keywords: aluminum dissolution, aluminum anode, acrylic hydrogel, ultra thin galvanic cell, electrochemistry of aluminum.
  
         
     
         
         
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