Abstract
Pulse plating was used to prepare a zinc deposit from a zinc chloride bath with and without poly(ethylene glycols) and potassium benzoate as additives. The influence of additive and pulse plating parameters, namely, ton time=1 ms, Toff time=4 ms-19 ms and average current density=1 Adm−2-5 Adm−2 on grain size, surface morphology and preferred orientation was investigated. The surface morphology of zinc deposits was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The grain size and preferred orientation of zinc deposits were studied by X-ray diffraction. At constant ton time=1 ms, the grain size became finer with increasing Toff time from the electrolyte without the additives. On the other hand, a progressive decrease of the grain size was observed with the additives. The (1010) and (1120) orientations were strong preferred orientation at all pulse plating parameters from the electrolyte with and without additives. Current efficiency became high with an increase in average current density.
