Electrodeposition of Cu-Ag Alloy Films at n-Si(001) and Polycrystalline Ru Substrates

Electrodeposition of Cu-Ag films from acidic sulfate bath was conducted at n-Si(001) and polycrystalline Ru substrates. Significant nucleation overpotential of 0.4 V is observed with the Cu-Ag bath at n-Si(001) substrate, whereas the electrodeposition of Cu-Ag at Ru substrate is influenced by Ru oxides at the surface. Incomplete coverage of Si substrate by Cu-Ag deposit was observed from the deposition systems without Ag(I), or with 0.1 mM Ag(I), comparing with the compact Cu-Ag film obtained with the deposition bath containing 0.01 mM Ag(I). Layered and faceted Cu-Ag deposit was observed at small Cu deposition overpotential with the Ru substrate. Phase composition of the Cu-Ag deposits at n-Si(001) substrate from electrolyte with various Ag(I) concentrations is examined by XRD. Limited solubility of Ag (0.4 at.%) was observed in fcc-Cu until phase separation occurs. The classical model for nucleation kinetics in electrodeposition was used to examine the potentiostatic transients of the Cu-Ag electrodeposition at n-Si(001) substrate.

Effect of TiO2 Concentration on Microstructure and Properties of Composite Cu–Sn–TiO2 Coatings Obtained by Electrodeposition

In this work, Cu–Sn–TiO2 composite coatings were electrochemically obtained from a sulfate bath containing 0–10 g/L of TiO2 nanoparticles. The effect of TiO2 particles on kinetics of cathodic electrodeposition has been studied by linear sweep voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. As compared to the Cu–Sn alloy, the Cu–Sn–TiO2 composite coatings show rougher surfaces with TiO2 agglomerates embedded in the metal matrix. The highest average amount of included TiO2 is 1.7 wt.%, in the case of the bath containing 5 g/L thereof. Composite coatings showed significantly improved antibacterial properties towards E. coli ATCC 8739 bacteria as compared to the Cu–Sn coatings of the same composition. Such improvement has been connected with the corrosion resistance of the composites studied by linear polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In the bacterial media and 3% NaCl solutions, Cu–Sn–TiO2 composite coatings have lower corrosion resistance as compared to Cu–Sn alloys, which is caused by the nonuniformity of the surface.

Effects of Bath Composition and P Contents on the Mechanical Properties of Ni-P Electroplating

Ni-P alloys are fabricated on the pre-cleaned copper substrate using electroplating method in sulfate bath. The concentration of phosphorous acid and current density were varied to optimize the P contents as well as the physical properties of the alloy. The properties of Ni-P alloy were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface hardness of the Ni-P alloy was increased up to 550 Hv as the phosphorous acid (H3PO3) increased upto 0.015 M, however the higher phosphorous contents in the coating developed the cracked on the surface. The surface hardness was increased due the grain refinement.

Electroplated NiCo Alloy with Low Residual Stress from the Sulfate Bath

NiCo alloys are electroplated in sulfate bath. The concentration of cobalt sulfate and current density were varied to optimize the surface hardness. The properties of NiCo deposits were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface hardness of the NiCo alloy was increased up to 500 Hv at 24 wt% Co in the deposits due to the grain refinement. The size of grain was reduced to 12 nm. The residual stress of the deposits was varied from tensile to compressive as the saccharin concentration increased. The zero residual stress was achieved at 0.05 g/L saccharin addition.