Some alloys are very
difficult to electrodeposit, due to problems
such as the large difference in the equilibrium potentials and/or
deposition kinetics of the alloy components, as well as the bath instability
due to the spontaneous reactions in the bulk electrolyte. The Ag–Fe
system is one of those. In this work, a novel alkaline citrate–dimethylhydantoin
(DMH) complex has been used to synthesize thermodynamically immiscible
Ag–Fe alloy films. The large difference in standard potentials
and deposition kinetics of Ag and Fe is partially resolved by complexing
Ag(I) with DMH, while the instability caused from spontaneous reduction
of Ag(I) by Fe(II) was partially resolved by adding 1% Fe3+, based on the philosophy of the mixed potential theory. Furthermore,
a paradigm for control of film composition is developed, based on
the mass-transfer coefficient ratio, tested with various bath constitutions.
Uniform and high-quality films are obtained, with a composition error
of <4 at. % comparing with the predicted values. Electrochemical
reactions involved in the deposition baths were systematically investigated
using cyclic voltammetry, showing satisfactory agreement with the
predicted deposition potentials calculated by equilibrium thermodynamics.
The films deposited at high overpotential are proven to be biphasic,
containing Ag-fcc and Fe-bcc phases, with a trend of decreasing crystallinity
at increasing overpotentials when deposited at constant deposition
time. A narrow transition potential range (<0.05 V) from the onset
of Fe deposition to its limiting current condition was observed.