Abstract:
This paper presents the results of the influence of variation of the synthesis conditions
of CuBi/CuBi2O4 films with a change in the applied potential difference, as well as a change in
electrolyte solutions (in the case of adding cobalt or nickel sulfates to the electrolyte solution) on
changes in the phase composition, structural parameters and strength characteristics of films obtained
using the electrochemical deposition method. During the experiments, it was found that, in the
case of the addition of cobalt or nickel to the electrolyte solutions, the formation of films with a
spinel-type tetragonal CuBi2O4 phase is observed. In this case, a growth in the applied potential
difference leads to the substitution of copper with cobalt (nickel), which in turn leads to an increase
in the structural ordering degree. It should be noted that, during the formation of CuBi/CuBi2O4
films from solution–electrolyte №1, the formation of the CuBi2O4 phase is observed only with an
applied potential difference of 4.0 V, while the addition of cobalt or nickel sulfates to the electrolyte
solution results in the formation of the tetragonal CuBi2O4 phase over the entire range of the applied
potential difference (from 2.0 to 4.0 V). Studies have been carried out on the strength and tribological
characteristics of synthesized films depending on the conditions of their production. It has been
established that the addition of cobalt or nickel sulfates to electrolyte solutions leads to an increase
in the strength of the resulting films from 20 to 80%, depending on the production conditions (with
variations in the applied potential difference). During the studies, it was established that substitution
of copper with cobalt or nickel in the composition of CuBi2O4 films results in a rise in the shielding
efficiency of low-energy gamma radiation by 3.0–4.0 times in comparison with copper films, and
1.5–2.0 times for high-energy gamma rays, in which case the decrease in efficiency is due to differences
in the mechanisms of interaction of gamma quanta, as well as the occurrence of secondary radiation
as a result of the formation of electron–positron pairs and the Compton effect.
