Electrochemical fabrication of micro/nanoporous copper by electrosynthesis-dealloying of cu–zn alloy in deep eutectic solvent

Abstract

The electrodeposition of Cu–Zn alloy films on a Ni substrate from CuO and ZnO precursors in choline chloride (ChCl)/urea (1:2 molar ratio) based deep eutectic solvent (DES) was firstly carried out. Then, micro/nanoporous Cu films were fabricated by further electro-dealloying of the synthesized Cu–Zn alloy films. XRD analysis indicates that the phase compositions of the deposited Cu–Zn alloys are Cu5 Zn8 and CuZn5. Further investigation shows that the more-active component Zn would be dissolved during the electro-dealloying process, and porous Cu can be obtained. The result reveals that the electrosynthesis-dealloying process may provide a promising strategy for the production of micro/nanoporous Cu at low temperature.