Silicon is a metal that, when pure, is very valuable to the electronics industry as it makes up vital parts of circuits that are present in everyday computers like phones. Unfortunately silicon is a difficult metal to purify, however here we present our initial studies attempting to purify silicon by doing simultaneous electrodeposition and recrystallization of silicon using gallium. Electrodeposition is a process in which you take an electrode and put it in an electrolyte bath with a metal salt dissolved into it. Then by passing electrical current through the electrode, the metal in the electrolyte bath becomes deposits itself on the surface of the electrode. This process is used for coating solid metals with the other metals, like plating copper onto zinc to make pennies. Here we use gallium as the electrode to perform the electrodeposition. Gallium is a non-toxic liquid metal has ability to dissolve other metals. Because of this property, the electrodeposited material will begin forming pure crystals through a process called recrystallization. The results of this project would allow for a less expensive and easier alternative to the current purification method for materials like silicon which are very expensive to purify and require extremely high temperatures and dangerous chemicals.

Simultaneous electrodeposition and recrystallization of silicon on gallium

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.