Electrodeposition of Lead from Acetate Electrolyte Containing Additives

SUMMARYThe electrodeposition of lead on to steel substrates from acidic acetate electrolyte containing hexadecyl pyridinium bromide (HDPB) and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) has been investigated. In the acetate electrolyte containing a combination of HDPB and SDS, lead of good quality can be deposited. The optimum operating conditions necessary to produce a highly adherent lead deposit have been found to be: pH=5.0, j = 0.33 A dm−2, T=25°C and time= 10 min. The optimum bath has a throwing power of 19.5% which is relatively high compared with that reported for Pb electrodeposited from sulphamate and fluoroborate baths. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the Pb deposited from the acetate bath is pure and the surface morphology of the deposit shows that the lead deposited from the optimum bath is compact, non-porous and composed of fine-grains covering the entire surface.