Study of electrodepositing Au on hollow polystyrene microspheres

The electrodeposited Au film on hollow polystyrene microspheres is successfully prepared by a set of self-designed device. The film is more compact and uniform on account of the microspheres freely moving on the cathode. These experiments mainly focus on the analysis of spherical symmetry, thickness and roughness of electrodeposited Au film. Under conditions of current density 1.5-3 mA cm(-2), the temperature 25 degrees C, and the stirring rate 150 rpm, the electrodeposited microsphere is coated with a considerably orbicular film. The morphology, thickness and roughness of Au electrodeposits are studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), respectively. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.