Physical and electrochemical area determination of electrodeposited Ni, Co, and NiCo thin films

Authors

Matthew Gira, Hope CollegeFollow
Kevin Tkacz, University of California, IrvineFollow
Jennifer R. Hampton, Hope CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2016

Publication Source

Nano Convergence

Volume Number

3

First Page

6

Abstract

The surface area of electrodeposited thin films of Ni, Co, and NiCo was evaluated using electrochemical double-layer capacitance, electrochemical area measurements using the [Ru(NH₃)₆]³⁺/[Ru(NH₃)₆]²⁺ redox couple, and topographic atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging. These three methods were compared to each other for each composition separately and for the entire set of samples regardless of composition. Double-layer capacitance measurements were found to be positively correlated to the roughness factors determined by AFM topography. Electrochemical area measurements were found to be less correlated with measured roughness factors as well as applicable only to two of the three compositions studied. The results indicate that in situ double-layer capacitance measurements are a practical, versatile technique for estimating the accessible surface area of a metal sample.

Recommended Citation

Gira, Matthew J., Kevin P. Tkacz, and Jennifer R. Hampton. “Physical and Electrochemical Area Determination of Electrodeposited Ni, Co, and NiCo Thin Films.” Nano Convergence 3, no. 1 (January 29, 2016): 6. doi:10.1186/s40580-016-0063-0.