Multisweep cyclic voltammetric (CV) responses of nickel, copper, Monel and nickel-copper alloy had been extensively studied and compared in a variety of non-aqueous solvents such as acetonitrile (AN), propylene carbonate (PC) and sulfolane containing triethylamine trishydrogen fluoride (TEA center dot 3HF) ionic liquid. The quantity of dissolution as well as surface morphological transformation on the electrode surfaces as a result of anodic polarization were investigated using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. The nature of crystallites formed on the polarized electrode was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The voltammetric study clearly indicates that Ni, Monel and Ni-Cu alloy are passive and stable in neat TEA center dot 3HF medium in the recorded potential region of CV. Surface morphology of Ni after polarization, reveals the generation of pits, whereas the evolution of small crystallites of CuF2 are noted on the polarized alloy material, as evidenced by SEM pictures. Copper electrode shows reversible voltammetric characteristics with high charge recovery ratio (q(c)/q(a)) suggesting that in this medium, Cu can certainly serve as reference electrode. Addition of water in TEA center dot 3HF medium increases the solubility and stability of these metal fluoride film. In solvents such as PC, AN and sulfolane containing TEA center dot 3HF, Ni and their alloys exhibit remarkable passivity and the charge recovery ratio decreases to some extent for Cu. In TEA center dot 3HF/AN medium, the dissolution of Cu is very high. The present investigation suggests that the relative stability of all the four electrodes in neat TEA center dot 3HF and solvents containing 0.1 M TEA center dot 3HF decreases in the order: Ni > Monel > Ni-Cu alloy > Cu and relative solubility of metal fluoride films in the three solvents increases in the order: PC < sulfolane < AN. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.