2016 Volume 84 Issue 11 Pages 872-877
In this study, a new electrolyte urea/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride was developed to replace traditional sulfuric acid in the zinc electroplating process using zinc oxide as a zinc source. The electrochemical behavior of zinc from zinc oxide was investigated in the urea/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride electrolyte using chronoamperometric and cyclic voltammetric techniques. The cyclic voltammograms for this electrolyte illustrated that the zinc reduction is a diffusion–controlled irreversible process via a single-step two-electron transfer procedure. Chronoamperometric measurements suggested that the zinc electrodeposition on a tungsten electrode followed a three-dimensional instantaneous nucleation with a diffusion-controlled growth model at 353 K. Electrodeposits from Chronoamperometric measurements were analyzed with various characterization techniques. SEM images show that electrodeposits were flakes-like at low cathodic potentials and became clusters at more negative cathodic potentials. The obtained electrodeposits are metallic zinc, confirmed by XRD and EDS.
