Reflection and structural analyses of mirror-bright metal coatings

Reflection and structural analyses of different copper and zinc coatings were performed. The copper coatings were electrodeposited from a sulfate solution in the presence of thiourea, as well as in the presence of modified polyglycol ether, PEG 6000 and 3-mercaptopropanesulfonate. The zinc coating was electrodeposited from a sulfate solution in the presence of a dextrin/salicylaldehyde mixture. They were examined by STM and X-ray diffraction analysis, and measurements of the reflection of light from their surfaces were taken. The mean sizes of atomically flat parts of these surfaces were estimated by the STM software measurements, using options for the determination of the autocovariance function and the power spectral density function. It was shown that the mean sizes of atomically flat parts of the copper coatings were several times greater than the mean size of atomically flat parts of the zinc coating. This difference probably leads to the difference in the maximum degrees of mirror reflection between copper and zinc coatings.