Electrodeposition and characterization of binary Fe-Mo alloys from trisodium nitrilotriacetate bath

• Fe-Mo deposition from alkaline bath containing 0.055 M or 0.11 M NTA was studied.
• Voltammetric studies show two cathodic processes depending on bath composition.
• EDS and SEM results show Fe-Mo co-deposition and globular crystallites deposits.
• XRD results show the formation of Fe-Mo binary alloy.

An alkaline solution for the electrodeposition of Fe-Mo alloys was developed with trisodium nitrilotriacetate (NTA3 −) as the complexing agent for Fe(III). The Fe-Mo voltammetric profile in the presence of 0.11 M NTA and 0.055 M NTA showed, respectively, two cathodic waves and one cathodic wave. Analysis of chemical composition by EDS of electrodeposits produced voltammetrically up to several final electrodeposition potentials (Ef) showed that they contained Fe, Mo and O, depending on Ef. SEM of Fe-Mo electrodeposits with electrodeposition charge density (qd) 95.55 C cm− 2, produced potentiostatically with 0.055 M and 0.11 M NTA, showed uniform films formed by coalesced globular crystallites, depending on the deposition potential (Ed). EDS analysis of Fe-Mo electrodeposits produced with qd 95.55 C cm− 2 in the presence of 0.11 M NTA showed that the Mo content varied with Ed from 23.3 wt% to 66.2 wt%, whereas in the presence of 0.055 M NTA it varied with Ed from 58.6 wt% Mo to 64.4 wt%. XRD analysis of the Fe-Mo electrodeposits produced with qd 95.55 C cm− 2, regardless of the NTA concentration, indicated that the Fe-Mo electrodeposits could be of low crystallinity or partially amorphous.