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Electrodeposition of copper thin films from 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide

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Abstract

Copper films are used as electrical contacts in printed circuit boards in view of their high electrical conductivity. The aim of the present work was to develop a method for the electrodeposition of high quality copper films from an ionic liquid-based electrolyte with low environmental and health impacts. The electrolyte investigated was copper(II) bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (CuTFSI2) solutions in 1-methyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMIM-TFSI). The Cu(II) → Cu(I) reaction in this electrolyte was quasi-reversible, with an activation energy of 12 kJ mol−1. Dense nano-crystalline copper films with particle sizes of 20 nm were easily obtained from CuTFSI2 solutions in EMIM-TFSI. The morphology of the copper films was independent of the deposition potential and time, possibly due to stable complexes in solution arising from the use of the ionic liquid and metallic salt with the same anion.

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Acknowledgments

Tomin Liu gratefully acknowledges a PhD grant of the Erasmus Mundus Programme International Doctoral School of Functional Materials (IDS FunMat) Project No. 2010-08.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and ICEMS - Instituto de Ciências e Engenharia de Materiais e Superfícies, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal

    Tomin Liu, Rui Vilar & Sónia Eugénio

  2. Institut des Sciences Moléculaires - Université Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5255, Bâtiment A12, 351 cours de la libération, 33405, Talence Cedex, France

    Tomin Liu, Joseph Grondin & Yann Danten

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  1. Tomin Liu
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  2. Rui Vilar
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  3. Sónia Eugénio
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  4. Joseph Grondin
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  5. Yann Danten
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Correspondence to Tomin Liu.

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Liu, T., Vilar, R., Eugénio, S. et al. Electrodeposition of copper thin films from 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. J Appl Electrochem 45, 87–93 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-014-0773-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-014-0773-0

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