Estimation of the exchange current density and comparative analysis of morphology of electrochemically produced lead and zinc deposits

Abstract

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.