Surface Segregation versus Consumption Processes

For metal deposition, the adsorbates must either (1) segregate onto the freshly created surface, (2) become buried or occluded in the solid by overgrowth of the neighboring surface, (3) undergo a deactivation process that results in either accumulation of the inactive species on the surface, desorption into the electrolyte or incorporation into the growing solid or (4) some combination of the above. Exactly 

Importantly, any process that results in lateral coverage gradients of either the additive or metal adatom will be countered by surface diffusion. Such surface transport is known to be strongly influenced by both potential and electrolyte composition through associated impact on the structure and composition of the surface. For example, anions are known to lead to substantial enhancement of metal adatom transport with diffusion coefficients ranging from 2 1CT16 up to 8 10-13 cm2 s 1 [137, 138], 

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