Production of electroplated rhenium coatings using pulsating currents

Abstract

Rhenium was the most interesting material because it can be oxidized at high temperatures, so it is a promising applicant in biomedical applications. Its high melting point requires techniques such as electro-coating to produce it in thin-film formation, using a current of 40 mA/cm2 , in a cathode pulse and 4 mA/cm2 , in anodic form, the variation in temperature of the acid electrolytic bath being realized in a range of 60 to 85±2 °C. The temperature variation of the samples allowed to correlate their response to the degradation phenomenon. The topographical evaluation using atomic force microscopy on the surface of the samples permitted to indicate that a tendency of the roughness to reduce with the increase of the temperature up to 80 °C existed, an electrochemical evaluation was generated using Tafel polarization curves, immersed in a Ringer's lactate solution with a temperature of 37 °C, has now been subsequently performed using the scanning electron microscope, the surface analysis of the coatings, demonstrating that at deterioration is negligible, but when increasing the temperature to 80 °C, the deterioration is imperceptible when the type of surface damage is unobservable, however in the case of 85 °C the deterioration is observable.