The impact of gelatin on the electrodeposition behavior and microstructure of copper in industrial electrolyte solutions

With the development of science and technology and the rapid rise of the battery industry, the demand for high-quality copper is gradually increasing. In this paper, the electrodeposition process of copper is regulated by adding gelatin, and the structure of the deposited layer is improved by adsorption, nucleation and complexation. Linear sweep voltammetry cyclic voltammetry and chronocurrent method were used to study the effect of gelatin on the electrocrystallization process of copper in industrial electrolyte. The effects of organic additive gelatin on grain refinement and crystal growth orientation of industrial electrodeposited copper were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, backscattering electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the addition of gelatin makes copper deposition potential shift negatively, cathode polarization increases, nucleation relaxation time decreases, and copper deposition grain thinning. However, gelatin did not change the nucleation/growth mechanism of copper. When the gelatin concentration is 60 mg/L, the overpotential is the highest, the nucleation rate is the fastest, the grain size of the deposited layer is the smallest 0.69 µm, the surface roughness is 199 nm, and the preferred orientation of the deposited layer is (200) and (111) crystal plane double-oriented growth, which inhibits the single direction of grain growth, resulting in grain thinning. Therefore, the optimal concentration of gelatin in the industrial electrolyte is 60 mg L⁻¹, which can significantly improve the quality of electrolytic copper and meet the needs of industrial production.