Cementation of Nickel onto Iron

A rotating disk of iron precipitant in a high temperature batch reactor has been used to study the kinetics of precipitation of nickel from low concentration aqueous solutions. Under inert atmosphere conditions, for temperatures up to 150°C, the rate of nickel deposition at pH25°C of 5 to 6 is controlled both by the rate at which nickel ions reach the surface and the rate of chemical reaction at the surface. However, the presence of oxygen in the atmosphere above the reacting system increases the nickel deposition rate dramatically. It is suggested that under the experimental conditions used, hydrogen atoms are adsorbed on both the iron and nickel, thus reducing the number of sites available for the cementation reaction. Oxygen acts as a depolarizer for hydrogen.