Microrelief of Copper Deposit Surfaces: Effect of the Substrate Surface Microirregularities and Electrolysis Conditions

The growth of copper electrodeposits on glassy-carbon and copper electrodes from acidic sulfate electrolytes are investigated using statistical analysis of their surface microrelief. The regularities of variations in the root-mean-square deviation and the mean angle of microirregularities, the excess and the skewness of microrelief of the deposit surface during deposit growth are determined for various electrolysis conditions. At the initial stages of growth of deposits, their roughness substantially depends on the cathodic current density, concentration of copper ions, and crystalline heterogeneity of the cathode surface. An analysis of dependences of the mean angle of microirregularities, the excess, and the skewness of surface microrelief on the deposit thickness showed that the variations in the deposit structure and morphology become more pronounced with increasing cathodic current density and decreasing concentration of copper ions.