Bismuth-Film Electrodes for Sn2+ Sensing: The Roles of Grain Size, Preferred Orientation Ratio, and Surface Roughness

Abstract

Based on the electrodeposited method and the experimental strategy, the preferred orientation ratio of Bi deposits electroplated under a direct-current (dc) mode has been precisely controlled and predicted. According to the simple but reliable model for changing the preferred orientation ratio, the deposit plated at 28 oC and pH = 4.25 showed the highest f value. Bi deposits with various crystallite sizes, surface roughness, and preferred orientation ratio can be easily prepared and compared by electrodeposited method in this work. Consequently, the sensing ability of Sn2+ has been found to strongly depend on the preferred orientation ratio of Bi deposits, but is weakly affected by the crystallite size according to the current response of various bismuth deposits.