Last modified: 2018-07-23
Abstract
The deposition of metals and alloys thin films on foreign substrates surfaces is an important technological process for the formation of micro-, nano-structures and different devices. Generally, these granular materials are elaborated by physical vapor deposition techniques such as sputtering or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and vapor deposition. Electrochemical deposition is an attractive method for the elaboration of granular thin films. It offers the advantages of low elaboration temperature, low cost and high purity.
In this work, the properties of Fe1-xCux alloys thin films prepared by the electrodeposition method from a sulfate bath with complexing agents under potentiostatic conditions on a both porous and bare silicon -coated conducting glass substrate at different parameters have been investigated.
The study was carried out by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and means techniques for the determination of the different properties. The CV measurements showed that the presence of cathodic and anodic peaks associated with deposition and dissolution of Fe1-xCux alloys followed by current increase at more negative potential due to hydrogen evolution reaction. The surface morphology of the Cu deposits is probed using ex situ AFM. The images a high quality smooth deposits with good substrate adhesion which has been attributed to the reduced oxygen content. A strong dependence of the physical properties with the composition of the thin films is observed. Finally, the thin films produced have been used as anode for lithium batteries.