Influence of the surface properties of SiC particles on their codeposition with nickel

The electrolytic codeposition of SiC with nickel from a nickel Watts bath was investigated by codeposition experiments of SiC particles on a rotating disk electrode and by thin-film rupture experiments. From the rotating disk experiments it was found that the codeposition of SiC depends strongly on the presence of a surface oxide. A few monolayers of oxide impede the codeposition. Removing the surface oxide by HF or NaOH greatly increases the codeposition of SiC particles with nickel. The influence of surface oxidation on the codeposition of SiC particles with Ni was correlated with thin-film rupture results. Thin liquid films of nickel Watts solutions on SiC were investigated by microinterferometry. The effect of surface pretreatment on the stability and rupture of the thin films was studied. It was found that the stability of thin films on SiC is strongly influenced by the solvation force. A strong correlation was established between the stability of the thin films and the codeposition results. Our results demonstrate that thin-film rupture experiments can be used to analyze and even predict the codeposition behavior of a material. (C) 2003 The Electrochemical Society.