Electrochemical deposition of composite coatings in copper matrix with TIO2 nanoparticles

Abstract

Cu-nanoTiO2 composite coatings electroplated from copper sulphate bath were obtained and characterised. The paper presents the influence of the concentration of TiO2 nanoparticles as dispersed phase in copper matrix coatings obtained at different current densities. The concentrations of nano-TiO2 particles (17nm) were 5, 10 and respectively 50g/L in electroplating bath. It was shown that the mechanism of electrodeposition affected the incorporation of the solid particles into copper matrix. The surface morphology and composition of layers were studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and EDX analysis. The results have shown that nano-TiO2 particles presence either in solution or embedded in small amount in the copper matrix has a great influence on the structure and properties of the coatings. The microhardness of the layers with nano-TiO 2 was also determined.