Theoretical and experimental studies of the influence of gold ions and DMH on cyanide-free gold electrodeposition

Room Temperature Electrochemical-Shock Synthesis of Solid-Solution Medium-Entropy Alloy Nanoparticles for Hydrogen Evolution

For millennia, humankind has discovered great benefits in alloying materials. Over the past 100 years, a renaissance in nanoscience has cemented the importance of nanoparticles in a variety of fields ranging from energy storage and conversion to cell biology. While many synthetic strategies exist for nanoparticle and alloy nanoparticle formation, new methods are necessary to create nanoparticles under unprecedented conditions. Here, we demonstrate a simple technique to electrodeposit solid-solution alloy nanoparticles at room temperature. When metal salts of platinum, gold, and palladium are confined to nanodroplets suspended in oil, and then a nanodroplet collides with a sufficiently negative-biased electrode to reduce the metal salts at the mass-transfer limitation, solid-solution alloy nanoparticles form. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and single atom energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirm the solid-solution microstructure of the nanoparticles. The results also confirm the nanodroplet's ability to tune alloy microstructures from amorphous to solid-solution. We further extend our technique by adding salts of silver, which lead to the synthesis of polycrystalline medium-entropy alloys. Finally, we go on to show the application of our midentropy alloys toward renewable and clean energy devices by highlighting their electrocatalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction. Our method is unrivaled in its simplicity and will find applications across various fields of study.

Photocatalytic Gold Recovery from Industrial Gold Plating Effluent by ZnO Nanoparticles: Optimum Condition and Possible Applications

The comparative study of photocatalytic gold recovery from cyanide-based gold plating solution was explored via commercial and hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). The effects of hydrothermal temperatures on the properties and photocatalytic activities of synthesized ZnO NPs were investigated. In addition, the effects of operating parameters including types of hole scavenger, concentrations of the best hole scavenger, the initial pH of wastewater, and photocatalyst dosages were examined. The obtained results demonstrated that the commercial ZnO NPs exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity for gold recovery than that of the synthesized ones owing to their good crystal quality and the presence of non-lattice zinc ions and appropriate non-lattice oxygen ions. Via the commercial ZnO NPs, the gold ions were almost completely recovered from the cyanide-based gold plating effluent within 7 h at an initial pH of 11.0 in the presence of 10 vol % C2H5OH and 1.0 g/L of photocatalyst loading with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 0.2637 h-1. Finally, the resultant gold-decorated ZnO NPs exhibited a higher photocatalytic property for color reduction from industrial wastewater and antibacterial activity than that of fresh ZnO NPs. The results obtained in this study possess benefits and pave the way for waste remediation and management for the plating industries.

Research on Surface Morphology of Gold Micro Bumps Based on Monte Carlo Method

In advanced packaging technology, the micro bump has become an important means of chip stacking and wafer interconnection. The reliability of micro bumps, which plays an important role in mechanical support, electrical connection, signal transmission and heat dissipation, determines the quality of chip packaging. Surface morphological defects are one of the main factors affecting the reliability of micro bumps, which are closely related to materials and bonding process parameters. In this paper, the electrodeposition process of preparing gold bumps is simulated at the atomic scale using the Kinetic Monte Carlo method. The differences in surface morphology and roughness of the plated layer are studied from a microscopic perspective under different deposition parameters. The results show that the gold micro bumps prepared by electrodeposition have better surface quality under conditions of lower deposition voltage, lower ion concentration and higher plating temperature, which can provide significant guidance for engineering applications.

Electroless deposition of Ni–P/Au coating on Cu substrate with improved corrosion resistance from Au(iii)–DMH based cyanide-free plating bath using hypophosphite as a reducing agent

In the Au(iii)–DMH based cyanide-free electroless gold plating bath, the added hypophosphite inhibited the black pad and improved the corrosion resistance of the Cu/Ni–P/Au coating.

Rational Compositional Control of Electrodeposited Ag-Fe films

Some alloys are very difficult to electrodeposit, due to problems such as the large difference in the equilibrium potentials and/or deposition kinetics of the alloy components, as well as the bath instability due to the spontaneous reactions in the bulk electrolyte. The Ag-Fe system is one of those. In this work, a novel alkaline citrate-dimethylhydantoin (DMH) complex has been used to synthesize thermodynamically immiscible Ag-Fe alloy films. The large difference in standard potentials and deposition kinetics of Ag and Fe is partially resolved by complexing Ag(I) with DMH, while the instability caused from spontaneous reduction of Ag(I) by Fe(II) was partially resolved by adding 1% Fe³⁺, based on the philosophy of the mixed potential theory. Furthermore, a paradigm for control of film composition is developed, based on the mass-transfer coefficient ratio, tested with various bath constitutions. Uniform and high-quality films are obtained, with a composition error of <4 at. % comparing with the predicted values. Electrochemical reactions involved in the deposition baths were systematically investigated using cyclic voltammetry, showing satisfactory agreement with the predicted deposition potentials calculated by equilibrium thermodynamics. The films deposited at high overpotential are proven to be biphasic, containing Ag-fcc and Fe-bcc phases, with a trend of decreasing crystallinity at increasing overpotentials when deposited at constant deposition time. A narrow transition potential range (<0.05 V) from the onset of Fe deposition to its limiting current condition was observed.

A “turn-on” fluorescent and colorimetric chemodosimeter for selective detection of Au3+ ions in solution and in live cells via Au3+-induced hydrolysis of a rhodamine-derived Schiff base

A chromogenic and “off–on” fluorogenic chemodosimeter (L) based on a naphthalene–rhodamine B derivative was designed, synthesized and characterized for the selective and sensitive detection of Au³⁺ ions in mixed acetonitrile aqueous media.

Experimental and DFT study of the effect of mercaptosuccinic acid on cyanide-free immersion gold deposition

In order to search for an effective alternative to cyanide for gold plating, mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) was selected as the complexing agent of Au⁺ by open circuit potential tests and gold plating compared with 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid and aminomethylphosphonic acid. For the first time, a novel, stable, slightly acidic and cyanide-free gold plating bath was prepared. Scanning electron microscopy, Tafel tests, and tin dipping tests showed that the Cu/Ni–P/Au coating had a fine and even grain size, no black pad, good corrosion resistance, and good weldability. Quantum chemical calculations based on density functional theory were used to further study complexants and complexes. Molecular electrostatic potential indicates that Au⁺ approaches MSA in the direction of C Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 ]]> O. Frontier molecular orbital theory, atomic contribution to orbital composition, condensed local softness, and average local ionization energy indicate that the coordination capacity of the S atom in MSA is much stronger than that of other atoms. Fuzzy bond order analysis shows that the S–Au–S coordination structure is the most stable form in the plating solution. UV-visible absorption spectroscopy clarifies that the wavelength is redshifted when MSA–Au(i) ions form.

A cyanide-free gold plating bath was prepared and the complexing capacity of mercaptosuccinic acid with Au(i) was studied through density functional theory.

Novel Amino-pillar[5]arene as a Fluorescent Probe for Highly Selective Detection of Au3+ Ions

A novel fluorescent probe, amino-pillar[5]arene (APA), was prepared via a green, effective, and convenient synthetic method, which was characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR), and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The fluorescence sensing behavior of the APA probe toward 22 metal ions in aqueous solutions were studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. The results showed that APA could be used as a selective fluorescent probe for the specificity detection of Au3+ ions. Moreover, the detection characteristics were investigated by fluorescence spectral titration, pH effect, fluorescence competitive experiments, Job's plot analysis, 1H NMR, and IR. The results indicated that detection of Au3+ ions by the APA probe could be achieved in the range of pH 1-13.5 and that other coexisting metal ions did not cause any marked interference. The titration analysis results indicated that the fluorescence intensity decreased as the concentration of Au3+ ions increased, with an excellent correlation (R 2 = 0.9942). The detection limit was as low as 7.59 × 10-8 mol·L-1, and the binding ratio of the APA probe with Au3+ ions was 2:1. Therefore, the APA probe has potential applications for detecting Au3+ ions in the environment and in living organisms.