Abstract

The subject of this study is the electrochemical synthesis of samarium–cobalt (Sm-Co) alloy coatings on a copper substrate from aqueous solutions using chronoamperometric methods. The study focused on assessing the effect of ecological complexing agents—L-arginine and glycine—on the deposition kinetics and quality of the deposits obtained within a potential range of −1.1 V to −1.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Morphological analyses indicated that the type of amino acid used determines the layer growth mechanism. It was found that exceeding the potential of −1.4 V results in a rapid increase in samarium content in the alloy, reaching maximum values of 29 at.% for the system with L-arginine and 35 at.% for the system with glycine at a potential of −1.8 V. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) structural studies confirmed the successful synthesis of the Co8.5Sm intermetallic phase directly by electrodeposition, while X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicated the presence of oxides and hydroxides on the deposit surface. Despite obtaining a high samarium content, it was observed that intense hydrogen co-evolution at low potential leads to a decrease in current efficiency and the formation of internal stresses and cracks in the structure of the coatings.

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