Electrodeposition of Gold Films from a Glycerol Solution on Carbon Paste Electrode and the Effect of Chemical and Electrochemical Parameters of Electrodeposition on the Electrode Performance in Potassium Ferrocyanide Solution
The gold electrodeposition process from a glycerol solution on a carbon paste electrode (CPE) was investigated by voltammetry and the morphologies of the electrodeposits were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Voltammetric study indicated that AuCl4 was reduced to Au0 and the process was mixed controlled (mass transport and electron transfer) preceded probably by AuCl4 decomplexation. Glycerol affected the kinetic of gold electrodeposition in function of the AuCl4 concentration. SEM images indicated that the gold electrodeposit covered totally some of the graphite flake by a homogeneous morphology, regardless of the electrodeposition condition. Moreover, using a full factorial planning it was verified that the deposition charge and potential affected the modified CPE performance in a potassium ferrocyanide solution, while HAuCl4 and glycerol concentrations affected only by interactions with the other factors.