Optimization of the parameters for nickel electrowinning using interference microscopy and digital image analysis

Ni electrodeposition experiments at a constant current density 220 A/m2 were performed to determine the optimum concentrations of chloride and an organic additive used for an industrial Ni electrowinning. White light interference microscopy was used to acquire digital images of the morphology of the electrodeposited nickel. The scaling analysis was employed to parameterize the morphological information encoded in the images. The standard deviation of the surface height, δ, the critical scaling length, L c, and the optical roughness, 4δ/L c, were determined as a function of the chloride concentration and the amount of organic additives. These parameters were plotted as a function of the two compositional variables. These three-dimensional plots allowed us to find conditions corresponding to the minimum of 4δ/L c, at which the deposited nickel is well leveled.