Orientation dependence of the electrochemical corrosion properties of electrodeposited Cu foils

• Textural effect on electrochemical corrosion of Cu electrodeposits was examined.
• Polarization properties of the electro-deposited Cu foils were studied.
• The passive layer and corrosion products were identified.
• The corrosion mechanisms and the formation of corrosion products were explained.

In this study, the electrochemical corrosion properties of electrodeposited Cu foils in a CuCl2-containing acidic etching solution were investigated. The main passive product was CuCl and a trace amount of Cu2O can also be detected. The (2 2 0)-oriented Cu foils exhibited higher corrosion potential and lower corrosion current density than those with (1 1 1) or (2 0 0) texture, suggesting a superior corrosion resistance against the etching solution. It is proposed that the preferred orientation and thus the differences in atomic stacking density on specific planes dominated the corrosion properties of the electrodeposited Cu foils instead of grain size or surface roughness.