An electrochemical process is a chemical reaction caused by the applied electrical current (Tsang et al. 2009; Shinomiya et al. 2006; Wu et al. 2010a). It involves oxidation–reduction reactions where an atom or molecule is formed with the gain or loss of electrons by the charged ions (Sonnenfeld and Schardt 1986). In electrochemical reactions, the electric current is produced as a result of electron transfer from the atoms or molecules present in the reaction. Many natural phenomena involve electrochemical processes, such as the corrosion of metals (Revie and Uhlig 2008; Wessling and Posdorfer 1999), the ability of some sea creatures to generate electrical fields, and the signal processing and sensing of the nervous systems in humans and animals.
In modern manufacturing technologies, electrochemical processes have been widely applied in various fields including electrical power storage of batteries (Gao et al. 2004; Trevor et al. 1989; Ocko et al. 1990), electrolysis (Nozik 1975; Bak et al. 2002; Rossmeisl et al. 2007), and, most importantly, electrochemical deposition.
This chapter summarizes the recent progress in the electrochemical processes for manufacturing various materials, including metals and metal oxides as well as electrical conducting polymers. The aim is to present a general understanding in the growth mechanisms of particular materials in the electrochemical processes and also their applications.
The main text of this article is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the process parameters’ (i.e., potential, current, temperature, and precursors) effects on the morphology, sizes, compositions, and physical properties of the materials in electrochemical processing. The applications of electrochemical process will be reviewed in the following part. Finally, this review concludes with the perspectives on the future research directions of this area.