Open AccessEstimation of the exchange current density and comparative analysis of morphology of electrochemically produced lead and zinc deposits
Author(s) -
Nebojša D. Nikolić,
Predrag Živković,
Goran Branković,
Marko Pavlović
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the serbian chemical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.227
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1820-7421
pISSN - 0352-5139
DOI - 10.2298/jsc161114029n
Subject(s) - exchange current density , limiting current , current density , zinc , electrolysis , polarization (electrochemistry) , electrolyte , electrochemistry , diffusion , chemistry , current (fluid) , analytical chemistry (journal) , limiting , diffusion current , materials science , inorganic chemistry , metallurgy , electrode , thermodynamics , tafel equation , environmental chemistry , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The processes of lead and zinc electrodeposition from the very dilute electrolytes were compared by the analysis of polarization characteristics and by the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of the morphology of the deposits obtained in the galvanostatic regime of electrolysis. The exchange current densities for lead and zinc were estimated by comparison of experimentally obtained polarization curves with the simulated ones obtained for the different the exchange current density to the limiting diffusion current density ratios. Using this way for the estimation of the exchange current density, it is shown that the exchange current density for Pb was more than 1300 times higher than the one for Zn. In this way, it is confirmed that the Pb electrodeposition processes are considerably faster than the Zn electrodeposition processes. The difference in the rate of electrochemical processes was confirmed by a comparison of morphologies of lead and zinc deposits obtained at current densities which corresponded to 0.25 and 0.50 values of the limiting diffusion current densities. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 172046