Surface Sensitive Nickel Electrodeposition in Deep Eutectic Solvent

Abstract

The first steps of nickel electrodeposition in a deep eutectic solvent (DES) are analyzed in detail. Several substrates from glassy carbon to Pt(111) were investigated pointing out the surface sensitivity of the nucleation and growth mechanism. For that, cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry, in combination with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were employed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to more deeply analyze the Ni deposition on Pt substrates. In a 0.1 M NiCl2 + DES solution (at 70 °C), the nickel deposition on glassy carbon takes place within the potential limits of the electrode in the blank solution. Although, the electrochemical window of Pt|DES is considerably shorter than on glassy carbon|DES, it was still sufficient for the nickel deposition. On the Pt electrode, the negative potential limit was enlarged while the nickel deposit grew, likely because of the lower catalytic activity of the nickel toward the reduction of the DES. At lower overpotentials, ...