Recycling of Expired Ceftamil Drug as Additive in the Copper and Nickel Electrodeposition from Acid Baths.

Due to the large quantity of expired and unused drugs worldwide, pharmaceutical disposal has become a serious problem that requires increased attention. In the present paper, the study on recycling ceftazidime (CZ) as an additive in copper and nickel electrodeposition from acid baths is highlighted. CZ is the active substance from expired commercial drug Ceftamil®. Its electrochemical behavior was studied by cyclic voltammetry. As well, kinetic parameters for copper and nickel electrodeposition were determined using Tafel plots method at different temperatures and CZ concentrations in these acid baths. The activation energy was calculated from Arrhenius plots. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to investigate the charge transfer resistance and coverage degree in the electrolyte solutions at several potential values. Gibbs free energy values, calculated from Langmuir adsorption isotherms, revealed the chemical nature of CZ-electrode surface interactions. The favorable effect of the organic molecules added in copper and nickel electroplating baths was emphasized by optical microscope images. The morphology of the obtained deposits without and with 10-4 mol L-1 CZ was compared. The experimental results revealed that expired Ceftamil® is suitable as additive in copper and nickel electroplating processes from acid baths.

Adsorption Behavior of TBPS in the Process of Cu Electrodeposition on an Au Film.

The adsorption behavior of an Cu electroplating additive, 3,3 thiobis-(1-propanesulfonic acid sodium salt) (TBPS) in a process of Cu deposition onto a single crystalline Au(111) surface is studied by an in-situ Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy (SEIRAS). The SEIRAS spectra of the TBPS adlayer on a Cu film is investigated first and compared to that on an Au film. These results are utilized to evaluate the characteristics of TBPS adlayer on the electrode surface during the Cu deposition and stripping processes. The results show that the SEIRAS spectra of TBPS adsorbed on the Cu film resembles closely to that on the Au film, and the most pronounced peaks are symmetric S-O (ss-SO) and asymmetric S-O (as-SO) stretching modes. However, the as-SO band is sharper with a higher intensity on the Cu film. Since the ss-SO and as-SO peaks correspond to the molecular with upright and lie-down orientations, respectively, it implies that the TBPS molecules have higher ratio of lie-down orientation on the Cu film. In the Cu electrodeposition process, the cyclic voltammetry (CV) result shows that the presence of the TBPS in the HClO4 solution can decrease the inhibition effect of HClO4 to the Cu deposition. For the spectra measured at various potential during cathodic and anodic sweeping, an obvious change of the spectra occurs at ca. 0.6 V, the initiation of Cu underpotential deposition (Cu-UPD). For potentials higher and lower than 0.6 V, the spectra are similar, respectively, to those measured for the Au and Cu films. This result indicates that the TBPS molecules originally adsorbing on the Au film transfer to the surface of deposited Cu layer. This inference is also confirmed by the variation in wavenumber and peak intensity of ss-SO and as-SO peaks during the potential sweeping.