Ultrasound-assisted electrodeposition and synthesis of alloys and composite materials: A review

The development of electrodeposited materials with improved technological properties has been attracting the attention of researchers and companies from different industrial sectors. Many studies have demonstrated that the electrodeposition and synthesis of alloys and composite materials assisted by ultrasound may promote the de-agglomeration of particles in the electrolytic solution due to microturbulence, microjets, shock waves, and breaking of Van der Waals forces. The sonoelectrochemical technique, in which the ultrasound probe acts as a working electrode, also has been used for the formation of nanostructures in greater quantity, in addition to accelerating the electrolysis process and eliminating the reaction products on the electrode surface. Regarding the morphological aspects, the acoustic cavitation promotes the formation of smooth and uniform surfaces with incorporated particles homogeneously distributed. These changes have a direct impact on the composition and physical properties of the material, such as corrosion resistance, magnetization, wear, and microhardness. Despite the widespread use of acoustic cavitation in the synthesis of nanostructured materials, the discussion of how process variables such as acoustic power, frequency, and type of ultrasound device, as well as their effects still are scarce. In this sense, this review discusses the influence of ultrasound technology on obtaining electrodeposited coatings. The trends and challenges in this research field were reviewed from 2014 to 2019. Moreover, the effects of process variables in electrodeposition and how these ones change the technological properties of these materials were evaluated.