Effects of Chloride Concentration on Zinc Electroplating

The zinc electroplating with respect to the chloride concentration was investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and cathodic polarization measurement. The cathodic overpotential during electroplating was first decreased and then increased with increase of chloride concentration in electrolyte. The decreased cathodic overpotential leads to preferred orientation of (002) plane, high current efficiency and satisfactory zinc deposits. The increased cathodic overpotential causes random orientation, low current efficiency and edge burning. The cathodic overpotential was affected by chloride concentration in electrolyte, not by the kind of chloride, such as NaCl and KCl. An optimized chloride concentration was 3 M for zinc electroplating. Also, it is considered that NaCl can be a alternation for KCl as a main salt of zinc electroplating bath.