Copper Electrodeposition on Textile for Wearable Electronics

Abstract

Two main tasks in fabricating a circuit is to pattern the interconnections and soldering elements to the patterned conductive traces. Using copper growth electrodeposition assisted by hydrogen evolution as a technique for integration of electronic elements and circuits in fabrics and flexible substrates particularly useful for soldering electronic components, representing an advantage over conventional methods and providing a high quality of the deposits requiring relatively inexpensive equipment. This method has shown high rate of deposition and formation of nanostructures, expected to anchor to the fibers of a fabric for enhanced stability of the structure. Moreover, the technique has proven to be reliable for soldering electronic components at room temperature. A copper pattern can be achieved over a MWCNTs coating by the copper growth deposition in the electrochemical cell after electrolysis is reached in the cell with the aqueous solution of Cu2+ and H2SO4. Cu2+ions interact with hydrogen allowing the formation of the reaction product by the application of voltages above 1.0V. The electrodeposition parameters and the quality of the copper being deposited will be analyzed to find the optimum conditions for fast copper deposition and adhesion to the fabric structure and also will be tested for soldering simple electronic elements and it will be studied to be more resilient during laundry.