Spontaneous oscillations in gold electrodeposition

We report the appearance of spontaneous oscillations during the electrodeposition of gold along the surface of aqueous hydrogen tetrachloroaurate solutions coated by a positively charged dimethyldioctadecylammonium monolayer, when a current ramp with a rate comprised between 1 and 1.5 nA s(-1) is applied to the working electrode. Alternating sequences of two-dimensional (2D) growth and three-dimensional (3D) thickening of the deposits leading to gold films with a well-defined terraced structure are observed. Such a phenomenon appears to be produced by the competition between two mechanisms controlling the current density J(1) : one is the current ramp which tends to increase J(1) and the other one is the growing of the gold deposit which induces a decrease of J(1). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.