Influence of Potential and the Presence of Boric Acid on Pt_1-xCo_x Alloy Electrodeposition and Magnetic Properties

Abstract

The effects of potential and the presence of B(OH)3 on Pt1-xCox alloy electrodeposition from aqueous chloride-based solutions on Ru substrates was investigated. Films deposited at potentials more reducing than −0.65 V vs SCE were hexagonal close packed and greater than 90% Co (mole basis), and films deposited at potentials more oxidizing than −0.65 V were face centered cubic and showed a monotonic decrease in cobalt content as the potential increased. The composition and structure-potential dependences were not strongly affected by the presence of B(OH)3. Structural change coincided with a distinct knee-like feature in the composition-potential relationship, along with a prominent narrow voltammetric peak associated with Co deposition, possibly related to nucleation and growth of the hcp phase. The presence of B(OH)3 produced a sharp minimum in both Coulombic efficiency and deposition rate at potentials near −0.65 V and almost entirely suppressed the voltammetric feature. This may be associated with a combination of B(OH)3-derived proton reduction and inhibition of metal deposition by adsorbed B(OH)3 or B(OH)3-derived species. The presence of B(OH)3 affected the magnetic behavior of films deposited at potentials more oxidizing than −0.55 V (i.e., those with compositions less than about 40% Co) only weakly, but resulted in generally smaller maximum magnetizations for films deposited at more reducing potentials, and notably a much lower magnetization for films deposited at −0.65 V.