One-step electroplating of palladium–copper alloy layers on a vanadium membrane for hydrogen separation: Quick,easy, and low-cost preparation

Palladium–copper (PdCu) alloy layers with 150 nm thickness were prepared by one-step electroplating on both sides of a vanadium foil. The entire process, including pretreatment, washing, and electroplating, was complete in <5 min. The PdCu layer had a high surface coverage and almost completely covered the vanadium foil. The composition difference between the center and the edges was within 3 at%, and the alloy composition was controlled to nearly the target composition (50:50). Peel tests revealed that the as-electroplated layer had sufficient adhesion for practical applications. XRD analysis confirmed the successful formation of a face-centered cubic (FCC) PdCu alloy. In-situ XRD analysis performed under a hydrogen atmosphere revealed the structural change of PdCu from FCC to body-centered cubic (BCC) immediately after the temperature reached 300 °C. The hydrogen permeability of electroplated PdCu/V/PdCu at 200–300 °C (1–3 × 10^?8 mol m^?1 s^?1 Pa^?1/2) was considerably higher than that of the 10 μm-thick electroplated BCC PdCu.