The corrosion inhibition of the self-assembled Au, and Ag nanoparticles films on the surface of copper

With the protection of sodium oleate, Au and Ag nanoparticles colloid solutions were produced through reducing HAuCl4 and AgNO3 separately with NaBH4 in an aqueous solution. Monolayers of Au, Ag nanoparticles and sodium oleate were self-assembled on the fresh active surface of the copper electrode. Comparing with the monolayers of the sodium oleate, the self-assembled monolayers of Au and Ag nanoparticles have more effective corrosion inhibition for copper as indicated by the high charge-transfer resistance shown in cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicates the percentages of Au and Ag are quite low in the SAM. It demonstrates that the major component of the SAMs is sodium oleate.