Effect of chelating agents on the structure of electroless copper coating on alumina powder

Abstract

Two chelating agents, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and triethanolamine (TEA), were used as complexing agents for copper coated on alumina powder via the electroless copper-plating procedure. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction have been used to examine the effect of chelating agents on the surface structure of copper coatings. The experimental results showed that the formation of copper crystallites strongly depended on the complexing capability of the chelating agent. For the EDTA series, it had a stronger complexing capability and a slower copper plating rate, and the copper crystallites were relatively small and uniformly distributed on the alumina surface when compared with those using TEA as a chelating agent. The acidity determined by the chemisorption of ammonia could be reduced more effectively when EDTA was used as a chelating agent.