An investigation of structural properties and surface morphologies of electrochemically fabricated nanocrystalline Ni–Co–Cu/ITO deposits with different compositions

Abstract

In this study, nanocrystalline ternary Ni–Co–Cu/ITO deposits with different compositions were produced by using the electrochemical deposition technique from a sulfate-based bath solution with different Co ion concentrations. It was revealed that an increment in the Co ion concentration gives rise to an enhancement in the Co content but leads to a decrement in the Ni and Cu contents of the deposit structure. The Co–Cu and Ni–Cu exhibited normal codeposition behavior, while the Co–Ni showed anomalous codeposition behavior irrespective of the bath concentration. The change in the degree of the anomalous codeposition was also investigated according to the Co ion concentration. The deposits exhibited a dual face-centered cubic (fcc) phase structure comprising Cu and Ni–Co phases. The strength of the Ni–Co (111) (Cu (111)) phase increased with respect to the Cu (111) (Ni–Co (111)) phase when the Co (Cu) content in the ternary Ni–Co–Cu deposit increased. The size of the crystallites, the value of the interplanar spacing, and the crystallinity of the deposits changed depending on the deposit composition. It was also revealed that the differences in the deposit composition highly affect the average diameter and the density of the agglomerated clusters formed on the deposit surfaces.