Preparation of Si thin films on copper foil using pulse current electrodeposition

Abstract

• The uniform and dense Si thin films is prepared by pulse current electrodeposition. • SiCl 4 and PC are used as Si source and the solvent respectively. • The Si thin films deposited by pulse current is studied as compared with that by DC. • The electrodeposition is divided into the instantaneous nucleation and growth of Si. Si has extremely high specific capacity, which has been widely used in the field of new energy materials. In this paper, Si thin films was prepared on copper foil by pulse current electrodeposition, and the electrodeposition process was systematically analyzed. For a comparison, Si thin films prepared by Direct Current (DC) electrodeposition was also discussed. The research results show that the uniform and dense films can be prepared by pulse current electrodeposition using organic solvent, and the films is mainly composed of Si and SiO x . The electrodeposition can be divided into two stages: instantaneous nucleation and growth of Si, and the relatively dense Si thin films will be obtained on the working electrode (copper foil) surface.