Correlation between Cu (I)-complexes and filling of via cross sections by copper electrodeposition

Electrically polarized nanoscale surfaces generate reactive oxygenated and chlorinated species for deactivation of microorganisms

Because of the decreasing supply of new antibiotics, recent outbreaks of infectious diseases, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, it is imperative to develop new effective strategies for deactivating a broad spectrum of microorganisms and viruses. We have implemented electrically polarized nanoscale metallic (ENM) coatings that deactivate a wide range of microorganisms including Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with greater than 6-log reduction in less than 10 minutes of treatment. The electrically polarized devices were also effective in deactivating lentivirus and Candida albicans. The key to the high deactivation effectiveness of ENM devices is electrochemical production of micromolar cuprous ions, which mediated reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide. Formation of highly damaging species, hydroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid, from hydrogen peroxide contributed to antimicrobial properties of the ENM devices. The electric polarization of nanoscale coatings represents an unconventional tool for deactivating a broad spectrum of microorganisms through in situ production of reactive oxygenated and chlorinated species.

Selective determination of cuprous ion in copper dissolving solution based on bathocuproine-modified expanded graphite electrode

The presence of cuprous ions in the copper-dissolving solution significantly affects the microstructure of copper plated surface. Fewer quantitative analyses of cuprous ions in the copper foil productive process had rarely been involved so far. In the present work, a novel electrochemical sensor of the bathocuproine (BCP) modified expanded graphite (EG) electrode was developed for the selective determination of cuprous ions. EG has a large surface area, good adsorption, and excellent electrochemical performance which remarkably promoted analytical sensitivity. Meanwhile, the selective determination of the BCP-EG electrode for cuprous ions in the coexistence of ten thousand times of copper ions have been achieved on the benefit of the special coordination of BCP to cuprous ions. In the coexistence of 50 g/L copper ions, the analytical performance of the BCP-EG electrode for the determination of cuprous ions had been examined. The results represented a wide detection range of cuprous ions in the range of 1.0 μg/L-5.0 mg/L, with a low detection limit of 0.18 μg/L (S/N = 3) and the BCP-EG electrode has great selectivity to cuprous ions in presence of various interferences. The analytical selectively for cuprous ions supported by the proposed electrode would be a potential analytical tool for quality improvement in electrolytic copper foil manufacturing.

Chain length variation to probe the mechanism of accelerator additives in copper electrodeposition

We evaluate the effect of chain length for a series of alkyl sulfonic acid additives on Cu electrodeposition by using a combination of electrochemical and Raman spectroscopic methods. Rotating disk linear sweep voltammetry revealed the influence of these additives on the bulk concentration of Cu+ and on the exchange current densities of the reduction of Cu2+/Cu+ and Cu+/Cu. We then used in situ shell-isolated, nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to correlate the additives' effects on deposition kinetics with their chemical structures at the electrode surface. The combination of these methods suggests that effective Cu electrodeposition acceleration processes require: (1) direct tethering of mercaptoalkylsulfonate species to the electrode, (2) partial desolvation of Cu2+ by the sulfonate group to minimize its solvent reorganization energy, and (3) stabilization of Cu+ adjacent to the electrode surface by addition of halide. The model provides support for recently proposed theories for the electrodeposition of metals where charge is carried across the electrode interface by the cation, rather than the electron.