Pattern formation during electrodeposition of alloys

The increase in the content of the alloying element in electrodeposited alloys reflects in the changes of their phase composition, when the saturation limit of the lattice of the basic metal is reached. At higher percentages, the excess amount of the alloying element forms one or more new, richer in this element phases. The coatings become multi-phase, heterogeneous and their physical–mechanical properties change. Sometimes an ordered distribution of the different phases of the heterogeneous alloy coating could be observed. Examples of self-organization phenomena during electrodeposition of different alloy systems, such as Ag-Sb, Ag-Bi, Ag-In, Ag-Sn, Ag-Cd, Cu-Sb and In-Co, resulting in pattern formation and formation of spatio-temporal structures on the surface of the obtained coatings are presented and compared. Instabilities resulting in potential or current oscillations are registered in most of the investigated systems. The phase composition of the alloy coatings and especially of the observed pattern is determined and some similarities in the structure of the phases forming the pattern are registered. The pattern formation is registered on the cathode not only in cyanide silver alloys electrolytes, but also during deposition of other alloy systems in acidic electrolytes like Cu-Sb and In-Co. The effect of the natural convection in non-agitated electrolytes on the pattern formation is discussed. The possibility of formation of periodic structured coatings without applying external electrical pulses which could result in appropriate modification of some properties of the electrodeposited alloys is demonstrated. The hypothesis that similar pattern formation could be observed in agitated electrolytes at different hydrodynamic and electrolysis conditions, when the same percentage or the same phase composition of the alloy is reached was examined for Ag-Cd, In-Co and Ag-Sb alloys in jet-plating experiments.