Stripe pattern formation in Ag–Sb co-electrodeposition

Transient changes in surface morphologies of Ag–Sb electrodeposits have been studied using a laser scanning confocal microscope. Measurements of the potential and current density in Ag–Sb electrodeposition reveal that the stripe pattern of the Ag–Sb electrodeposits emerges at the initial stage according to an experimental condition related to a necessary condition for the Turing instability in reaction–diffusion systems. In addition, pattern instabilities in this system give rise to a variety of patterns, such as hexagonal patterns, stripe patterns with dislocations and a small spiral emitted from a large spiral pattern. Their geometrical characteristics are similar to those of Turing pattern in reaction–diffusion systems, whose result suggests that the patterns observed in this system are a kind of Turing pattern formed on the solid surface.