Effect of alkaline electrolysis conditions on current efficiency and morphology of zinc powder

The deposition of electrolytic zinc from alkaline zincate solution was investigated and the effects of process parameters on current efficiency, morphology and specific surface area of zinc powders were analysed, based on excess potential and hydrogen release. Experiments were carried out with specific zincate and KOH concentrations under different current densities and current efficiencies were calculated based on powder weight. SEM imaging was used to study the effects of various conditions on powder morphology and the specific surface area was measured by BET. The highest specific surface area obtained was 9.14 m2/g.