Morphology and structure of bright electrodeposited metal coatings

Abstract

The properties which determine whether the metal surface is mirror bright are precisely determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic forces microscopy (AFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and reflectance spectrophotometry investigations. Mirror brightness of metal surfaces can be associated with the high degree of mirror reflection which approaches very nearly the ideal reflectance of the same metal with the lowest degree of diffuse reflection. Mirror brightness of the copper coatings and the copper surfaces polished both mechanically and electrochemically was determined by flat and mutually parallel parts of the surface, which are smooth on the atomic level and which point out towards layer structure of these surfaces. Mirror bright metal surfaces can be obtained only by electrochemical polishing or electrochemical deposition in the presence of brightening addition agents.

Effect of the electrolysis regime on the structural characteristics of honeycomb-like electrodes

“…The addition of additives to the electroplating solution [5,[10][11][12] can have a significant effect on the formation of this electrode type. The additives used for the improvement of the micro-and nanostructural characteristics of honeycomb-like electrodes are the same as those used in bright copper electroplating [13,14]. The effects of these additives on the specific surface area of honeycomb-like electrodes are equivalent to those obtained with the application of periodically changing regimes of electrolysis, such as pulsating overpotential (PO) [15][16][17], pulsating current (PC) [18][19][20] and reversing current (RC) [21] regimes.…”