On the mechanism of electrochemical deposition of graphene on Al foils and AlSi10MgCu particles

Highlights: • The synthesis of graphene obtained via electrochemical method was studied. • An electrochemical deposition of graphene on Al foils and AlSi10MgCu particles were executed. • The thickness of deposited graphene layers was varied from 3 to 20 layers. • The microstructure and composition of graphene formed on Al foils and AlSi10MgCu particles' surface were studied. • The chemical mechanism of graphene formation was C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁.→ C₆H₁₂O₆ → C_graphene The graphene synthesis via the electrochemical method and electrochemical deposition of graphene on Al foils and AlSi10MgCu particles were studied. The thickness of deposited graphene layers was varied from 3 to 20 layers and, thus, they were classified as multi-graphene. The chemically pure sucrose C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁ was used as a raw material for graphene synthesis. It was shown that the deposition of graphene layers was affected mainly by the pH values of electrolyte mediums. In the electrochemical reaction at H₂SO₄ water solution at pH < 7, the graphene was deposited on Al foils and on AlSi10MgCu particles from the electrolyte. The microstructure and composition of graphene formed on Al foils and AlSi10MgCu particles' surface were studied by Raman spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, and TEM methods. The chemical mechanism of graphene formation was defined as follows: the sucrose was recovered via the reaction route C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁ → C₆H₁₂O₆ → C_graphene in acidic aqueous media. An increase in the H₂SO₄ concentration from 0.05 M to 0.80 M has resulted in the formation of graphene layers with up to 6 μm thickness on AlSi10MgCu particles.