ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Effect of zeta potential on coating morphology of SiO₂-coated copper powder and conductivity of copper film

Xueying Zhai, Jingdong Guo, Wenshu Zhang, and De’an Yang

Key Laboratory for Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China

E-mail: dayang@tju.edu.cn

Received: 28 August 2019  Accepted: 10 January 2020

Abstract:

In this study, the zeta potential on the surface of copper powder was adjusted by changing the pH value and adding cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Silica sol was coated directly on copper powder through physical adsorption. The as-prepared SiO₂-coated copper powders were mixed with organic vehicle and screen printed on low-temperature co-fired ceramic substrate to form copper films. The binder-burn-out process of the films was carried out at 550 °C for 1 h in N₂/H₂O atmosphere and then sintered at 910 °C for 1 h in N₂ atmosphere. The results proved that zeta potential had a major effect on the coating morphology of SiO₂-coated copper powder. The SiO₂-coated copper powder with a weight ratio of 1% showed a uniform and smooth surface. When the CTAB concentration was 1 × 10^–4 mol/L, the copper powder exhibited the highest zeta potential of 98.2 mV, and the copper film had the best conductivity with a sheet resistance of 1.8 mΩ/□.

Keywords: Silica coating; Zeta potential; Copper paste; Thick films

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-020-01061-0

Chemical Papers 74 (7) 2123–2131 (2020)