Electrodeposition Behavior of Nickel from a Low Temperature Urea-molten Salt

The electrodeposition behavior of nickel at glassy carbon (GC) and stainless steel (SS) electrodes in low temperature urea-acetamide-NaBr-KBr melt was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, chrono-amperometric current-time transients and scanning electron microscopy. Cyclic voltammograms and dimensionless chronoamperometric current-time transients analysis show that the electrodeposition of nickel is an irreversible process and proceeds via three-dimensional progressive nucleation with diffusion-controlled growth on both GC and SS substrates. Scanning electron microscopic analysis indicates the nickel deposits obtained on SS electrode are generally uniform, dense, and adherent to the substrate with rounded crystallites in the nanometer size regime. It is also found that the crystal structure of the electrodeposited nickel is independent on the deposition potential. The nickel deposits produced from the melt at higher cathodic potential exhibit larger grain size.