Electrochemical study of nickel nucleation mechanisms on glassy carbon at different pH values in an industrial electrolyte

Abstract

Abstract The electrochemical behavior of nickel at different pH values in industrial electrolyte was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the cathodic reaction of nickel ions on glassy carbon electrode surface in industrial electrolyte is a quasi-reversible nucleation and growth process controlled by diffusion. The process is carried out in a three-dimensional instantaneous nucleation and growth mode, and pH values only influence the growth process. The grain size decreased, the deposition rate increased and the density of deposition layer on electrode surface increased with the increase in pH. When the electrolyte pH is 4.8, the grains are uniformly distributed on the electrode surface in a spherical shape with the size of 80 nm, which is the optimum pH value for preparing fine-grained nano-nickel.