Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10668694 | Surface and Coatings Technology | 2010 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
To overcome the poor mechanical properties of pure Cu thin films, we performed electrocodeposition to make nanocomposite thin films by incorporating inert Al2O3 nanoparticles (50Â nm and 300Â nm in diameter). In addition, to reduce agglomeration due to their high surface energy, we used ultrasonication during the electrocodeposition. In this paper, we examined the effects of the ultrasonication on the mechanical properties of nanocomposite films with different ultrasonic energy density up to 225Â W/cm2. Ultrasonication during electrocodeposition efficiently reduced the agglomeration of nanoparticles and reduced the grain size of the Cu matrix. Smaller nanoparticles were more efficiently de-agglomerated by ultrasonication, which resulted in more enhanced mechanical properties in the 50Â nm Al2O3 nanoparticle-enhanced specimens. Although the addition of nanoparticles in the Cu matrices significantly increased the hardness of the specimens, as observed in nanoindentation tests, we did not observe such an increase in tensile tests. Reducing the grain size by ultrasonication seems to be an important parameter in enhancing the overall mechanical properties of nanocomposites. Ultrasonication provided a significant increase in all mechanical properties, including elastic modulus, yield stress, ultimate tensile stress, and elongation, of all controlled Cu films.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Authors
Minho Kim, Fangfang Sun, Jaebeom Lee, Yang Ki Hyun, Dongyun Lee,