Pretreatment Condition of Cu by Ammonium-Based Mixed Solvent and Its Effects on the Fabrication of Ag-Coated Cu Particles

To achieve the fabrication of high-quality Ag-coated Cu particles through a wet chemical process, we reported herein pretreatment conditions using an ammonium-based mixed solvent for the removal of a Cu2O layer on Cu particles that were oxidized in air for 1 hr at 200 degrees C or for 3 days at room temperature. Furthermore, we discussed the results of post-Ag plating with respect to removal level of the oxide layer. X-ray diffraction results revealed that the removal rate of the oxide layer is directly proportional to the concentration of the pretreatment solvent. With the results of Auger electron spectroscopy using oxidized Cu plates, the concentrations required to completely remove 50-nm-thick and 2-nm-thick oxides within 5 min were determined to be X2.5 and X0.13. However, the optimal concentrations in an actual Ag plating process using Cu powder increased to X0.4 and X0.5, respectively, because the oxidation in powder may be accelerated and the complete removal of oxide should be tuned to the thickest oxide layer among all the particles. Back-scattered electron images showed the formation of pure fine Ag particles instead of a uniform and smooth Ag coating in the Ag plating performed after incomplete removal of the oxide layer, indicating that the remaining oxide layer obstructs heterogeneous nucleation and plating by reduced Ag atoms.