Abstract: The effects of substrates including nickel foil, nickel\|plated perforated steel strip, on deposition/dissolution behavior of zinc from flowing concentrated alkaline zincate solutions were investigated. The results show that almost no changes of concentration differences occur in flowing electrolytes, leading to no cathodic peaks appearing in cyclic voltammograms. At a scan rate above 10 mV/s, no variation of voltammograms for the zinc deposition/dissolution with scan rate is observed. This indicates that zinc deposition/dissolution peak currents are not only dependent on scan rate but also  related to the time of zinc deposition. The substrate, nickel-plated perforated steel strip, is characterized by high-H2-overpotential to excellent chemical stability. The mode of mass transportation is changed due to its special perforated structure. As a result, the polarization of zinc deposition is effectively reduced. Piled tightly zinc deposition is formed around the pores of the substrate. High zinc deposition efficiency is obtained with large current and capacity of zinc deposition. After 4 charge\|discharge cycles, the coulombic efficiency reaches over 95%. Therefore, the nickel\|plated perforated steel strip is a favorable substrate electrode suited for zinc deposition from flowing alkaline zincate solutions.

Key words: Flowing electrolyte,  , Zinc deposition,  , Substrate,  , Electrochemical behavior