Electrodeposition of copper and nickel on InBi alloy electrodes

Electrodeposition of copper and nickel was investigated on the 67–33 w/w InBi soft alloy, which has a low melting point (72°C). The electrochemical behaviour of this alloy was found to be similar to that of pure indium in a Watt's type bath. Direct and pulsed current techniques were compared. For copper, a current density ranging from 500 to 1000Am–2 was found to be suitable to obtain regular and shiny deposits at 25°C. For nickel, at 45°C, the current density range used was 500 to 1250Am–2 to obtain good deposits, that were not affected by hydrogen evolution. Pulsed and direct currents were found to be equally efficient. The main interest of electrodeposition on InBi alloy was the ease of removal of the alloy by simple melting, and consequently to make electrodes of unusual shapes which are normally difficult to produce industrially. Only a small amount of InBi alloy remained in the inner part of the deposit.