Electrolytic preparation of tin and other metals
AssigneeCel Systems Corporation
InventorRichard M. Westfall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Electrolytic processes for the growth of single crystal tin or other elemental crystals, with or without the use of a substrate. Exemplified cubic forms of alpha-tin and tetragonal forms of beta-tin are grown using a shaped anode and a pointed cathode to provide electrical geometric fields within an electrodeposition system to enhance the growth of the desired crystalline tin.
Claims32
A process for electrolytically producing a single crystal metal chosen from the group of metals consisting of silver, arsenic, gold, bismuth, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, gallium, mercury, indium, iridium, nickel, osmium, lead, palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, antimony, selenium, tellurium, and zinc, said process comprising the steps of:
- forming a bath containing cations of the metal and an anion component having sufficient ionic activity to support nucleation of the metal cations on a cathode upon application of a sufficient electrical current;
- immersing a pointed cathode and a shaped anode into said bath to provide for nucleation of the metal cations on the cathode along at least one crystalline twinning plane;
- passing an electrical current between the anode and the cathode at an applied cathodic potential above the critical overpotential for the composition of the bath;
- and
- reducing the metal cations at the cathode by the application of said electrical current to thereby form a single crystal metal deposit at the cathode.
A process for electrolytically producing single crystal tin, said process comprising the steps of:
- forming a bath containing cations of tin and an anion component chosen from the group consisting of chromate, iodide, nitrate, oxalate, selenate, tortrate, and mixtures of at least two thereof with the proviso that a halide and a nitrate are not simultaneously present in any such mixture;
- immersing a pointed cathode and a shaped anode into said bath to provide for nucleation of the tin cations on the cathode along at least one crystalline twinning plane;
- passing an electrical current between the anode and the cathode at an applied cathodic potential above the critical overpotential for the consumption of the bath;
- and
- reducing the tin cations at the cathode by the application of said electrical current to thereby form a single crystal tin deposit at the cathode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.