Aluminum is one of materials often used in different technical applications due to its light weight and its good corrosion resistance. Its melting temperature is around 660°C, therefore, it can be successfully used for corrosion protection of different materials below this point. Intermetallic phases between Al-Ru are promising candidates for corrosion protection in aggressive media at temperatures above 660°C. Polycrystalline Al-Ru layers present an exceptionally high ductility at room temperature. All these physical, chemical and mechanical properties of Al and Al-Ru films make them interesting for a variety of applications.

One can obtain Al and Al-Ru films by sputtering or by sintering by powder metallurgy and casting, as well as by electrodeposition. Aqueous solutions cannot be used for electrodeposition of Al, therefore, ionic liquids (ILs) were chosen in this study as electrolytes.

The electrolyte used in our work for deposition of Al consisted of 1:2 molar ratio of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, [EMIm]Cl, and AlCl₃. As an alternative, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]amide, [BMP][TFSA], has also been investigated. RuCl₃ and AlCl₃ were two of the sources chosen for Al and Ru. Moreover, Ru particles produced by gas phase electrodeposition, were added to an Al electrolyte. The morphology and the composition of the deposited layers were investigated by SEM/EDX. The effect of the IL and of the precursor for Ru on the growth of the layers and on the properties of the deposited films will also be discussed.