Electrochemical synthesis and applications of hierarchical nanostructured nickel

Fabrication and application of hierarchical Nickel nanostructured thin films by electrodeposition are studied in the present work. The fabrication process involves two types of approaches. In the first approach, production of hydrophobic hierarchical Nickel surface by electrochemical deposition in Nickel chloride solution with the surface modifier additive was performed. The behavior of the surface in the case of varying current density and time of deposition was studied. Superhydrophobicity of this surface was studied by geometrical effect of hierarchical nanostructured this film. In the second approach, a fluoropolymer coating was applied on the surface and the simultanous chemical effect of fluoropolymer and geometrical effect of hierarchical Nickel nanostructures were studied. The morphology, microstructure, and behaviour of the nanostructured surfaces were studied by various characterization methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and also the surface area of pretreated nickel electrodes and eletrolyte characterization was obtained by cyclic voltammetry. A micro-reactor was tested as an application of the hierarchical structure, and successfuly 50% fluorination output was observed. Finally, the nanostructure was deposited on a metallized paper in order to obtain a filtration membrane, and oil/water seperation was successfuly achieved.