Electrodeposition of Re-Ni alloys from aqueous solutions with organic additives

Article history: Received 15 April 2016 Received in revised form 27 September 2016 Accepted 5 October 2016 Available online 6 October 2016 In this study, Re-Ni alloys with high Re content were electrodeposited on copper substrates from aqueous solutions containing additives with a combination of vanillin, sodium lauryl sulfate and gelatin. The bath additives were found to have a significant effect on the chemical composition, surface morphology and cracking pattern. The morphology of the alloy was changed from uniformly smooth without additives to relatively coarse-grained with three additives. The deposition rate and crack density decreased when additives were added to a bath containing 34mMReO4 , 124mMNi and 343mM [Cit]. Almost pure Re filmswere formed at lowNi concentration of 30–50mMdue to the effect of additives; however, the deposited filmwas thin. A thin layer of Re oxide, a new Re-O-C-complex state and some organic residues from additiveswere formed at the surface of the Re film. Both the Re-rich alloy and the Re film were found to have an amorphous structure. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.