Properties of electrodeposited Fe-Cu films grown on ITO coated glass substrates at different electrolyte temperatures

In this study, effect of electrolyte temperature on structural and morphological properties of Fe-Cu films electrodeposited on ITO coated glass substrates has been investigated. Structural analysis carried out by using X-ray diffraction indicated that the films consist of a mixture of face-centered cubic (FCC) Cu and body centered cubic (BCC) alpha-Fe phases. It was found that the crystalline size of both Fe and Cu increases with increasing electrolyte temperature. Compositional analysis performed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that the Cu content within the films enhances with increasing electrolyte temperature. The surface morphology of Fe-Cu films was studied using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM results indicated that the surface morphology of Fe-Cu films significantly depends on the electrolyte temperature. The investigation of the residual stress in the films indicated that the residual stress for the FCC Cu is tensile in all films regardless of electrolyte temperature, whereas, for the BCC Fe, it depends on the electrolyte temperature. Correlation between the surface morphology and the residual stress is discussed in terms of the obtained results.