A study of the electrodeposition of Co–Cu alloys thin films on FTO substrate

Abstract

In this work, the early stages and the properties of the electrodeposition process of Co–Cu alloys thin films on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated conducting glass substrate from a sulfate bath were investigated using conventional electrochemical techniques and X-ray diffraction technique (XRD). FTO was chosen as a foreign substrate because of its high transparence and its properties as inert material. Within the potential range analyzed, the kinetics of the Co–Cu electrodeposition corresponded to a model including instantaneous nucleation on active sites and diffusion controlled cluster growth. The number of active sites of the substrate, N0, and the diffusion coefficient, D, were determined from the analysis of potentiostatic current transients on the basis of existing theoretical models. XRD patterns of the Co–Cu alloys thin films display fcc and hcp phase, with peaks quite close to those of the Co phase (fcc and hcp). Therefore, the variation of the composition of thin films alloy is possible depending on the deposition potential.