Effects of Additives Containing Cyanopyridine on Electrodeposition of Bright Al Coatings from AlCl3-EMIC Ionic Liquids

The Al coatings were electrodeposited on the Cu substrate from AlCl3-EMIC ionic liquid (AlCl3:EMIC = 2:1 molar ratio) containing three cyanopyridine additives with different positions of the substituent group on the pyridine ring, which were 2-cyanopyridine, 3-cyanopyridine, and 4-cyanopyridine. The effects of cyanopyridine additives on the deposition potential, morphology, brightness, and corrosion properties of Al coatings were investigated. It was considered that the deposition potential of Al shifted to more negative overpotentials, the quality of Al coatings was promoted, and the corrosion property was improved by the cyanopyridine additives to a varying degree. Especially in the presence of 4-cyanopyridine, the flattest mirror bright Al coating was obtained, which had the smallest homogeneous nanocrystal grain size and strongest Al (200) crystallographic orientation. The average roughness Ra value was as low as 31 nm compared to that in the absence of cyanopyridine additives, which was 417 nm. Furthermore, the corrosion current density of the bright Al coating was three orders of magnitude lower than the rough Al coating, which resulted from the dense nanocrystal structure.

Enhancing Precursor Quality of Cu-In-S Ternary Thin Films by Applying More Appropriate Deposition Procedure

Copper indium sulphur (CIS) thin films were electrochemically grown from an acidic aqueous solution including 10 mM CuCl2, 10 mM InCl3, 20 mM Na2S2O3 and 200 mM LiCl. Deposition potential is determined by means of cyclic voltammetry analysis. The precursor CIS thin films are produced at -1.10 V for 600 s, -0.90 V for 300 s and a mixed potential of -0.25 V for 150 s and -1.10 V for 150 s. It is reported that surface morphology and film stoichiometry vary remarkably with the deposition parameters. SEM images show a variation in the grain shape, homogeneity and agglomeration due to the different Cu/In ratio. The produced films have XRD peaks belonging to both CIS2 crystalline phase and S element. The produced CIS material at -1.1 V has a band gap of 1.66 eV. The CIS thin film produced at -0.9 V has three different band gaps such as 1.76, 2.59 and 2.85 eV. The CIS material produced by two steps has also three different band gaps between 1.59 and 2.74 eV. The CIS films are p-type, and resistivity and mobility data are in the range 6.56-8.61 Ωcm and 8.68-22.2 cm2/Vs, respectively. It is found that the acceptor concentration of CIS thin films varies between 2.48x1017 and 1.06x1018 cm-3. In summary, this study reports a procedure to produce high-quality precursor CIS thin films, highlighting a promising material to be used in heterostructure photovoltaic devices as a p-type absorber layer.

In-situ anodic precipitation process for highly efficient separation of aluminum alloys

Electrorefining process has been widely used to separate and purify metals, but it is limited by deposition potential of the metal itself. Here we report in-situ anodic precipitation (IAP), a modified electrorefining process, to purify aluminium from contaminants that are more reactive. During IAP, the target metals that are more cathodic than aluminium are oxidized at the anode and forced to precipitate out in a low oxidation state. This strategy is fundamentally based on different solubilities of target metal chlorides in the NaAlCl4 molten salt rather than deposition potential of metals. The results suggest that IAP is able to efficiently and simply separate components of aluminum alloys with fast kinetics and high recovery yields, and it is also a valuable synthetic approach for metal chlorides in low oxidation states.

Development of Differential Pulse Anodic Stripping Voltammetry Technique for Cadmium(II) Detection and Its Application in Water Spinach

Cadmium is a toxic pollutant that is harmful to the environment and humans. The purpose of this research was to develop a method for cadmium(II) detection using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) using a glassy carbon electrode. The developed method was then applied for cadmium detection in the vegetable samples which is water spinach. The developed method was optimized in several parameters such as potential window, deposition potential, deposition time, and scan rate. The developed method for cadmium(II) detection was also investigated in its analytical performance includes linearity, precision, detection limit, and quantitation limit. The optimum conditions for cadmium(II) detection in 0.1 M KCl using DPASV technique obtained such as potential window from -1200 to -100 mV, deposition potential of -1100 mV (vs Ag/AgCl), and deposition time of 360 s. It was obtained good linearity for cadmium(II) detection using the DPASV technique with an R2 of 0.996. The precision was expressed as %SBR with 0.66%. The detection and quantitation limits for cadmium(II) detection were 0.4206 µM~0.0771 ppm and 0.5525 µM~0.1013 ppm, respectively. The developed method was then applied for cadmium(II) measurement in the water spinach sample and the obtained cadmium(II) concentration in water spinach was 0.2399 mg/Kg.

Gold–Copper Film Electrode for Voltammetry Determination of Mercury in Water

Gold-copper film electrode prepared in situ on carbon paste solid disk substrate (Au–CuF/CPE) was studied as a working electrode. The factors influencing mercury stripping peak currents, such as C Au III (0.20 mg/L), C Cu II (0.05 mg/L), type of acids and their concentration (HClO4, 0.005 M), deposition potential (-800 mV) for Au–CuF/CPE, deposition time (180 s), and interferents, were investigated and optimized. The method has a low limit of detection of 0.13 μg/L and is not affected significantly by the examined ions/substance. It was applied to detect the concentration of Hg in real water samples and is promising for practical usage.

Amperometric Sensing of Carbon Monoxide: Improved Sensitivity and Selectivity via Nanostructure-Controlled Electrodeposition of Gold

A series of gold (Au) nanostructures, having different morphologies, were fabricated for amperometric selective detection of carbon monoxide (CO), a biologically important signaling molecule. Au layers were electrodeposited from a precursor solution of 7 mM HAuCl4 with a constant deposition charge (0.04 C) at various deposition potentials. The obtained Au nanostructures became rougher and spikier as the deposition potential lowered from 0.45 V to 0.05 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). As prepared Au layers showed different hydrophobicity: The sharper morphology, the greater hydrophobicity. The Au deposit formed at 0.05 V had the sharpest shape and the greatest surface hydrophobicity. The sensitivity of an Au deposit for amperometric CO sensing was enhanced as the Au surface exhibits higher hydrophobicity. In fact, CO selectivity over common electroactive biological interferents (L-ascorbic acid, 4-acetamidophenol, 4-aminobutyric acid and nitrite) was improved eminently once the Au deposit became more hydrophobic. The most hydrophobic Au was also confirmed to sense CO exclusively without responding to nitric oxide, another similar gas signaling molecule, in contrast to a hydrophobic platinum (Pt) counterpart. This study presents a feasible strategy to enhance the sensitivity and selectivity for amperometric CO sensing via the fine control of Au electrode nanostructures.

Voltametri Pelucutan Anodik Menggunakan Elektroda Pasta Karbon Termodifikasi Bentonit untuk Penentuan Kadar Ion Cd(II) dalam Sayur Sawi Putih

In this study, the measurement of Cd(II) ion by anodic stripping voltammetry technique was conducted using bentonite modified carbon paste as working electrode (CPE-B). The performance of CPE-B was compared with carbon paste electrode without bentonite (CPE) and applied for determination of Cd(II) concentration in chicory. Optimized parameters were composition of bentonite in carbon paste electrode, deposition time, deposition potential, and scan rate. Validation of measurements was observed including determination of linear concentration range, detection and quantization limits, repeatability of measurement, and percentage of recovery. The optimum composition of bentonite in CPE-B was found at 50%. Furthermore, in the optimization of measurements condition was found the optimum deposition times were 90 and 60 s, deposition potentials were -0.63 and -0.53 V, and scan rates were 15 and 20 mV/s, for CPE and CPE-B. The linear range concentration for CPE observed at 25-2000 µg/L and CPE-B was 5-50 µg/L. Limit of detection and quantization using CPE-B were 0.337 µg/L and 0.349 µg/L, lower than CPE i.e., 0.470 µg/L and 0.471 µg/L, respectively. Repeatability measurement of Cd(II) had Horwitz Ratio value less than two, and percentage of recovery was 96.73 8.33%. The level of Cd(II) ion in chicory was found at 6.98 0.40 mg/kg.