Nucleation and growth of Cu onto polycrystalline Pt electrode from acidic CuSO4 solution in the presence of H2SeO3

Abstract

The early stages of Cu electrodeposition onto Pt(poly) have been investigated in 0.5 M H2SO4 + 0.01 M CuSO4 solution without or with H2SeO3 when a molar concentration ratio [Cu(II)]/[Se(IV)] ≥ 2×102 using electrochemical and ex situ AFM techniques. The overpotential deposition of Cu has been performed onto a Pt surface precovered independently with Cu in amount close to an equivalent monolayer. Chronoamperometric results have been shown to follow an instantaneous 3D nucleation and diffusion-controlled growth model. The values of diffusion coefficient D for Cu2+, number of nuclei N and average nuclei radius r av have been calculated. In the local regions of the surface, the separate large agglomerates composed of the different diameter clusters have been revealed in both cases, but, in the presence of the H2SeO3, they attained a distinct chain-like configuration. Some morphological characteristics have been reported.