Influence of an inert electrolyte on the morphology of quasi-two-dimensional electrodeposits

Recent Progress in Electrochemical Deposition without Supporting Electrolyte

Electrochemical deposition (ECD) of metals is a very old subject[l], which has considerable applications in the context of electroshaping or electroplating. Electrochemists and chemical engineers have long known the different growth conditions of these metal aggregates and the different parameters which drive morphological changes, at least empirically [2-4]. However, in the recent years, after the introduction of the concept of fractal aggregation[5,6], in the field of non-linear pattern formation[7,8], a lot of work has been devoted to the specific problem of growth of electrodeposits from binary electrolytes [9-51] (i.e. without supporting electrolyte). These studies aimed at understanding the morphology, on the large scale (∼1cm) of the deposits and, more specifically, the transitions between morphologies. It is the aim of this paper to review the progress which has been achieved in the past five years on this question.

Fractal structures in two-metal electrodeposition systems II: Cu and Zn

In this second part of our study on fractal co-electrochemical deposition, we investigate the Cu-Zn system. Macroscopic and microscopic inspection shows a sensitive dependence of the morphology of the final pattern on initial concentrations. The pattern is seen to undergo a transition from classical dendrites to randomly ramified deposits, with each slight increase in [Cu(2+)](0), while [Zn(2+)](0) is maintained constant. The variational trends in chemical composition, growth velocity, and fractal dimension with increasing [Cu(2+)](0) are analyzed. The latter is seen to generally increase with copper (II) ion concentration. In contrast, the growth rate of the deposits is seen to decrease with increasing concentration of Cu(2+) ions. A new probe of dense ramified morphology, the pattern density, is introduced and seen to increase with [Cu(2+)](0). XRD measurements reveal that the observed properties correlate with the birth of copper-rich nuclei, which disrupt the crystalline anisotropy of the two-metal alloy.

Fractal structures in two-metal electrodeposition systems I: Pb and Zn

Pattern formation in two-metal electrochemical deposition has been scarcely explored in the chemical literature. In this paper, we report new experiments on zinc-lead fractal co-deposition. Electrodeposits are grown in special cells at a fixed large value of the zinc ion concentration, while that of the lead ion is increased gradually. A very wide diversity of morphologies are obtained and classified. Most of the deposited domains are almost exclusively Pb or Zn. But certain regions originating at the base cathode, ranging from a short grass alley to dense, grown-up bushes or shrubs, manifest a combined Pb-Zn composition. Composition is determined using scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive x ray measurements as well atomic absorption spectroscopy. Pb domains are characterized by shiny leaf-like and dense deposits as well as flowers with round, balloon-like corollas. The Zn zones display a greater variety of morphologies such as thick trunks and thin and fine branching, in addition to minute "cigar flower" structures. The various morphologies are analyzed and classified from the viewpoint of fractal nature, characterized by the box-count fractal dimension. Finally, macroscopic spatial alternation between two different characteristic morphologies is observed under certain conditions.

Transition between two dendritic growth mechanisms in electrodeposition

We report in this paper the observation of a transition between two different dendritic growth mechanisms in the electrodeposition of a metal from a binary electrolyte. Our results, in particular concerning the dendritic growth velocities, enable us to explain this behavior in terms of models previously proposed in the literature.

Morphological evolution in the electrodeposition of the Pb-Sn binary system

Morphological evolution in the electrodeposition of Pb-Sn binary system is studied. As the second component increases, the morphology of the codeposit changes from dendrite to ramification, to dense branch, and finally to fractal structure, respectively. The evolution arises from the influence of crystallographic texture, which leads to a splitting of dendritic tips and the formation of ramified morphology. This work provides direct evidence to explore the crystallographic influence on the morphological evolution in electrodeposition.

Experimental investigation of the initial regime in fingering electrodeposition: dispersion relation and velocity measurements

Recently a fingering morphology, resembling the hydrodynamic Saffman-Taylor instability, was identified in the quasi-two-dimensional electrodeposition of copper. We present here measurements of the dispersion relation of the growing front. The instability is accompanied by gravity-driven convection rolls at the electrodes, which are examined using particle image velocimetry. While at the anode the theory presented by Chazalviel et al. [J. Electroanal. Chem. 407, 61 (1996)] describes the convection roll, the flow field at the cathode is more complicated because of the growing deposit. In particular, the analysis of the orientation of the velocity vectors reveals some lag of the development of the convection roll compared to the finger envelope.

Internal structure of dense electrodeposits

We report experimental investigations of the structure of dense patterns obtained during electrochemical deposition of copper in thin cells. The deposit correlation function reveals the periodic structuration of the patterns but shows that the primary spacing is not steady during the growth and that moreover it is not simply related to the diffusion length. Another measurable quantity is the occupancy ratio of the fingers in the cell. Its variation as a function of the experimental parameters is interpreted from specific properties of electrochemical growth. The results are discussed with respect to the well-known behavior of cellular solidification fronts.