Effect of Some Additives on the Silver Electrodeposition Process

Silver production is an important economical activity in Mexico, and therefore it is essential to do research to optimize its process. One of the process drawbacks is low current efficiency because of dendritic crystal growth. The present work analyzes the effect of adding surfactants to the AgNO3 electrolyte to increase current efficiency (CE) and consequently to lower energy consumption (EC) and to better physical appearance (AF) by means of observing crystal structure by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The surfactants used were: tetra methyl ammonium chloride (TMAC), tetra buthyl ammonium chloride (TBAC), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), decyl amine (DA), and decyl alcohol (AD). The surfactants (TBAC) and (AD) improved positively (AF) and (CE).