Composition and Structure of Silver-Indium Alloy Coatings Electrodeposited from Cyanide Electrolytes

Abstract

The electrodeposition of Ag-In alloys from cyanide electrolytes was investigated. The resulting coatings were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, and X-ray diffraction. The effect of current density on the structure and coating phase composition was established. With increasing current density heterogeneous, more indium-rich alloy coatings were deposited, containing different phases such as Ag, and During electrodeposition in exhausted electrolytes, spatiotemporal structures were observed on the coating surface. A linear relationship between the concentration ratio of both metals in the electrolyte and the current density was found. According to this relation, the formation of spatiotemporal structures during electrodeposition in a fresh electrolyte is possible. © 2005 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.