Electroconvection in electrodeposition: Electrokinetic regularization mechanisms of shortwave instabilities

Dendrite formation resulting from morphological instability in cathodic electrodeposition of a metal and, especially, the role that related fluid flows play, has long been of major interest to physicists. We focus on the physical mechanisms behind: (1) Underlimiting currents: Selection of electrokinetic-reactive length scale, which is the geometric average of the electric double layer width and the reaction-diffusion length defined as the ratio of cation diffusivity to electrode reaction rate; (2) Overlimiting currents: Domination of emerging electroconvective flow, selecting the cathodic diffusion layer width as dominant length scale for morphological instability and emerging dendrites.