Electrochemical analysis study of rare earth element: Lanthanum under the effect of magnetic field and its application as an additive for chrome magneto electrodeposition

Lanthanum is a rare earth group that is increasingly needed for a variety of applications. In this study, we analyze the effect of magnetic fields on lanthanum electrodeposition. Electrochemical analysis techniques used are linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and Chronoamperometry (CA). LSV is used to measure the maximum current (limiting current). To determine the maximum current, the result of the LSV must be plotted in a Tafel plot. Tafel generated from LSV is the electrode potential (mV) with the logarithm of the current density (Log iL (A·cm–2)). The diffusion coefficient of the electroactive species was determined using chronoamperometry (CA). The results showed that the effect of increasing the working electrode area (A), magnetic field strength (B), and electroactive concentration (C) gave a certain increase in limiting current. Meanwhile, the addition of solution viscosity (v) and diffusion coefficient (D) will reduce the limiting current value for lanthanum electrodeposition. This study also carried out a chrome-plating process with the addition of lanthanum which was studied previously, it was found that the plating process using magnetic field produced a more uniform; thicker; more compact, and more mass deposit.