Formation of Cu/MnOx composite film by concurrent electroplating and electrophoresis in an organic solvent

A composite Cu/MnOx thin film was fabricated by conducting electroplating of Cu and electrophoresis of MnOx colloids simultaneously in an organic electrolyte. The organic electrolyte was prepared by dissolving copper (II) acetylacetonate and manganese (II) acetylacetonate in ethylene glycol, with addition of 10 vol% acetic acid to improve ionic conductivity. Since both Cu ions and MnOx colloids carry positive charges, the formation of a composite film was achieved by a pulse current mode in which a low current pulse was used for Cu2+ reduction, followed by a high current pulse for the electrophoresis of the MnOx colloids. The Cu/MnOx composite film was dense and its X-ray diffraction pattern revealed a mixture of Cu, Mn2O3, and Mn3O4. Both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy show consistent results confirming the metallic nature of Cu and oxidized state of Mn.