Synthesis of porous copper from nanocrystalline two-phase Cu–Zr film by dealloying

Two-phase 62Cu–38Zr thin films (wt.%) were refined at the nanometer scale by means of magnetic sputtering. Subsequently, nanocrystalline 62Cu–38Zr films were dealloyed in HCl solution by electrochemical etching of zirconium component, resulting in the formation of porous copper with uniform diameter of approximately 500 nm. In contrast, no porous copper could be obtained from coarse-grain 62Cu–38Zr alloys under the same conditions. The results showed the technological improvement of nanomaterials in fabrication porous material through a dealloying process.