Fabrication of microcellular metal foams with sphere template electrodeposition

Microcellular metal foam (MMF) is a new class of metallic material with many potential applications such as solar energy storage. In this study we present a sphere template electrodeposition process for bulk MMF fabrication. To overcome ion diffusion limitation and uneven metal growth problems we explore the benefit of a pulse reverse electrodeposition technique. An experimental study was conducted on the effect of pulse voltage and frequency. It is shown that metal deposition uniformity can be significantly improved with high pulse frequency and amplitude. This study suggests that bulk MMFs could be fabricated with a microsphere template electrodeposition process.