Formation of nanocrystalline Zinc on ITO and Silicon substrates by electrochemical deposition

Abstract

Zn was deposited by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave pulsating overpotential (OP) methods on ITO (indium tin oxide) and n-doped silicon (n-Si) substrates from an acetate-based electrolyte at two different temperatures in the absence of additives. The surface morphology of the Zn deposits was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The preferred orientation and the average size of the Zn electrodeposited particles on n-Si substrates were obtained by X-ray diffraction and the microhardness of the deposits was measured by standard means. The results show that the grain size of the electrodeposits increases as the temperature rises, and on the other hand that the PO method yields smaller grains and higher hardness values compared with those obtained by CV, irrespective of the temperature. Furthermore, in PO conditions a preferential (101) orientation is obtained for the growth of the Zn electrodeposits, but for long deposition times the growth direction is that [100] corresponding to the basal plane (002).

Effect of Additives on Electrodeposition of Nanocrystalline Zinc from Acidic Sulfate Solutions

“…In acetate-based bath without additives, several nanocrystalline zinc deposits were obtained by cyclic voltammetry and square wave pulsating potential methods, among which the smallest grain size was about 68 nm. 12 In chloride-based bath with a mixture of thiourea and polyacrylamide, a zinc deposit with an average grain size of 50 nm was produced by pulse current control. 13,14 In sulfate-based bath in the presence of surfactants ͓cetyltrimethylammonium bromide ͑CTAB͒, sodium dodecyl sulfate ͑SDS͒, and Triton X-100͔ and N 2 bubbling, zinc coatings with different crystal shape and size ͑in the range 40-20 nm͒ were prepared on stainless steel substrates by pulse current electrolysis.…”

Additive-Free Shape-Invariant Nano-to-Micron Size-Tuning of Cu2O Cubic Crystals by Square-Wave Voltammetry

“…17−22 SWV was employed recently in the fabrication of Pt nanocrystals and nanothorns, 23,24 Pd nanothorns, 25 Ag dendrites, 26 Au microflowers, 27 and Zn and Cu nano-/microstructures. 28,29 Neither the effects of individually adjustable parameters in SWV to the structure of fabricated nanocrystals nor the comparison with other conventional nonpulsed and pulsed voltammetric and amperometric techniques were reported.…”

“…A bulky quantity of nanomaterials is, however, not necessary for many applications. For example, in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and in many catalysis-related applications, no more than a monolayer of nanoparticles is required. ,, Electrochemical (EC) methods represent one of the promising approaches to the additive-free synthesis of a dispersed monolayer of shape- and size-controlled crystalline nanoparticles in aqueous phase under ambient conditions. − In EC-based methods, both the thermodynamics and kinetics of the particle nucleation and growth are controllable via adjusting deposition potential, current, and/or their time-gauged variation in pulse forms. − Compared with many other routinely used EC methods, square-wave voltammetry (SWV) is a much less studied technique in the electrocrystallization of nanomaterials, despite its extensive applications in the electroanalysis for sensitivity enhancement. − SWV was employed recently in the fabrication of Pt nanocrystals and nanothorns, , Pd nanothorns, Ag dendrites, Au microflowers, and Zn and Cu nano-/microstructures. , Neither the effects of individually adjustable parameters in SWV to the structure of fabricated nanocrystals nor the comparison with other conventional nonpulsed and pulsed voltammetric and amperometric techniques were reported.…”