Overpotential controls the morphology of electrolytically produced copper dendritic forms

Abstract

The morphologies of copper dendritic forms obtained in both potentiostatic and galvanostatic regimes of electrolysis with various amounts of the electricity were analyzed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique. Irrespective of amount of passed electricity, 3D (three dimensional) pine-like dendrites with sharp tips were formed in the potentiostatic regime of electrolysis. On the other hand, the amount of passed electricity had a strong effect on the shape of the 3D pine-like dendrites formed in the galvanostatic regime of electrolysis. Dendrites with sharp tips were formed with smaller amount of passed electricity, while dendrites with globular tips were formed with larger amounts. The change in the shape of the galvanostatically synthesized 3D pine-like dendrites was explained by comparison with copper deposits obtained potentiostatically at overpotentials that corresponded to the final overpotentials during galvanostatic regime of electrolysis for the analyzed amounts of electricity. Based on the similarity of the obtained morphologies at the macro level, it was concluded that the overpotential plays a crucial role in the formation of the electrolytically synthesized dendrites and that the controlled conditions of electrolysis could represent a suitable way for a synthesis of spherical Cu particles by electrolysis.