Deposition and stability of metal ions on oxidised silicon surfaces: electrochemical correlation

XPS is used to determine the chemical state of Au, Hg, TI, Ph and Bi deposi ted from their corresponding aqueous solutions on oxidized silicon or gold surfaces. It is determined that Au and Hg, having positive electrochemical reduction potentials, deposit in their 0-valent state, but TI, Pb and Bi, h aving small positive or negative electrochemical reduction potentials, depo sit in their corresponding ionic states, confirming our previous hypothesis about the electrochemical correlation. Electrochemical deposition of Au fr om aqueous solutions on to silicon electrodes yields 0-valent Au on both () and (-) polarised electrodes, with the only difference that more gold is deposited on the negatively biased one. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.