Experimental evidence for deterministic chaos in electrochemical deposition

Françoise Argoul , A. Arneodo

We report an experimental study of the statics and dynamics of electrodeposition of zinc in an aqueous medium, in the intermediate regime between dendritic and DLA-like metallic clusters. During the growth process, periodic and nonperiodic oscillations of the voltage are recorded under constant applied current intensity. Period-doubling bifurcations are identified. Analysis of the data in terms of phase portraits, Poincaré maps and 1-D maps shows that the fractal geometry of these electrochemical deposits is the signature of a low-dimensional deterministic chaotic dynamics which displays sensitivity to initial conditions. The study of the apparently more complex dynamics recorded in the DLA limit is a very promising experimental challenge.

Mots clés: aggregation in substances; chaos; dendritic structure; electrodeposition; fractals; metal clusters; zinc

Domaines: Articles anciens

Françoise Argoul, A. Arneodo. Experimental evidence for deterministic chaos in electrochemical deposition. Journal de Physique, 1990, 51 (21), pp.2477-2487. ⟨10.1051/jphys:0199000510210247700⟩. ⟨jpa-00212545⟩