Abstract: Initial stages of electrodeposition of copper on glassy carbon electrode from 0.8 mol•L－1 copper sulphate electrolyte solution containing 2.0×10－2 mol•L－1 nicotinic acid are studied using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry.The results show that nicotinic acid (NA) produces an inhibition of copper deposition,probably related to the adsorption of nicotinic acid.The initial deposition kinetics corresponds to a model including instantaneous nucleation and diffusion controlled growth.The X-ray diffraction results indicate that copper deposits exhibit face-centered cubic structure and (220) highly preferred orientation.Nicotinic acid produces uniform and smooth surfaces of copper deposit.

Key words: Copper electrodeposition, Electrocrystallization, Nicotinic acid, 　Structure of the deposits, Preferred orientation