Distribution of copper electrodeposited from a sulfuric acid solution onto fi brous carbon electrodes, copper deposition rate, and current effi ciency by the metal were studied in relation to the electrolysis duration, electrical conductivity of the electrode, geometric current density, and solution fl ow rate. The variation of the electrode thickness on which copper ions discharge at the limiting diffusion current at various solution fl ow rates and the electrode thickness on which the whole amount of oxygen dissolved in the electrolyte is reduced were calculated in relation to the solution fl ow rate and geometric current density. The main factors governing the distribution of copper across the electrode thickness and the electrolysis parameters from the beginning of the process till "clogging" of a part of the electrode by the metal were determined.Fibrous carbon materials (FCMs) are widely used in various fi elds of science and technology as a base for composite, electrode, ion-exchange, and catalytic materials [1-4]. One of promising and developing areas of their application is for electrodeposition of metals and alloys onto FCM fi bers and electrorecovery of metals from solutions formed in processing of mineral and secondary raw materials [5][6][7][8][9]. The effi ciency of electrochemical processes on FCM electrodes depends on the properties of a material, solution composition, electrolysis conditions (geometric current density, solution fl ow rate, mutual positions of current and solution fl ow vectors), and process organization scheme [5,10,11]. When a metal is deposited onto the FCM, its initial properties (reaction surface area, porosity) change, together with the linear fl ow velocity of the solution through the electrode, and the mass-transfer coeffi cient. Therefore, important and as yet not studied in detail is the effect of changes in these parameters on the electrodeposition dynamics of the metal, its distribution across the electrode thickness, and electrolysis parameters (current effi ciency by the metal and copper deposition rate) at various electrolysis durations.The goal of our study was to experimentally examine the metal deposition dynamics and the electrolysis parameters (distribution of the metal across the electrode thickness, current effi ciency by the metal, and its deposition rate) for the example of copper electrodeposition from a sulfuric acid electrolyte onto fi brous carbon electrodes (FCEs), whose properties are initially constant across their thickness, in relation to the geometric current density and solution fl ow rate.
EXPERIMENTALWe used the following electrolysis scheme: a 250-ml portion of a solution containing (g l -1 ): Cu 0.16, H 2 SO 4 25, and (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 80, subjected to electrolysis, was circulated at a constant rate between a vessel and an electrolytic cell; the electrical conductivity of the solution was 0.1 S cm -1 . To maintain the concentration of copper ions in the solution within a prescribed range (c Cu = 0.16 ± 0.03 g l -1 ), the main copper-plating elec...