The Effect of Base Metal Ions on the Electrochemical and Structural Characteristics of Electrodeposited Gold Films

It has long been known that gold deposits obtained from Co and Ni‐containing electrolytes are generally hard, while Pb and Tl‐containing electrolytes tend to give soft gold deposits. Yet the mechanism by which these additives affect the grain size is not fully known. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of base metal inclusions on the deposition characteristics and the microstructure of electrodeposited gold films. The kinetic and mechanistic aspects of the gold deposition reaction were investigated using linear sweep voltammetry on a rotating disk electrode. A combination of electron microscopy and electron diffraction techniques was used to characterize the microstructure.