THE INFLUENCE OF DEPOSITS ON PALLADIUM CATHODES IN D2O ELECTROLYSIS

Platinum and silicon have been found deposited on the palladium cathod e during the electrolysis of a 0.1 M LiOD solution with a platinum ano de in a glass cell. Various techniques including surface analysis, cyc lic voltammetry, and electrochemical permeation were used to study the surface deposits, electrochemical deuterium-sorption behavior, and pe rmeation rate of deuterium into palladium, respectively. It was shown that palladium cathodes were contaminated by platinum and silicon depo sits after a certain period of electrolysis. These deposits could affe ct the electrochemical processes during electrolysis. The contaminatio n may be a cause of the sporadic results reported in ''cold fusion'' r esearch.