Electropolishing in Organic Electrolyte Solutions

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Abstract
Details of experimental studies of the electropolishing of a number of metals in 10% sulphamic acid- formamide solutions are given. Iron, cadmium, zinc and tin polished and etched well in this system. Copper and uranium also polished but remained unetched at low current densities. Molybdenum and tungsten were also studied. Satisfactory etching and polishing of these metals was not achieved. Dissolution efficiencies were determined for Fe, Cu, Sn, Cd, Zn and U. The anodic behaviour of tin was studied in more detail in order to correlate the electrochemical conditions with the nature of the metal surface produced. The purity of the formamide used had some effect upon the anodic polarization characteristics of tin inasmuch as the limiting current density region was not clearly defined and the change in potential was only ∼0·5V whereas in purified solutions this was much more clearly defined and existed over a potential range of ∼4V. There was no evidence that impurities in the formamide affected the nature of the tin surface produced in relation to the appropriate polarization curve.