Dynamics of metal deposition onto a porous electrode of poor initial conductivity, with the electrode operating in a direct-flow regime at high solution flow rates

Abstract

The process of metal electrodeposition onto a porous matrix with poor initial conductivity is studied with the aid of a dynamic model for a porous electrode (PE), which was designed earlier and which was complemented with a block for calculating local conductivity of the solid phase. It is established that, despite a very low initial metal deposition rate, the final weight of the deposit inside the PE in the electrolysis conditions under consideration is greater than that inside a PE with a high conductivity of the solid phase. It is demonstrated that the additional metal amount is localized largely in the rear part of the PE and undergoes deposition chiefly in the initial electrolysis stage, specifically, until the instant of full metallization of the porous matrix and the PE conversion into an equipotential electrode. Specific features characterizing variations in the metal’s deposition rate in the course of its deposition onto a low-conductivity porous matrix and possible reasons for such variations are considered.