Effects of combinative surface modification on the stability and conductivity of the copper particles

•A combinative method is used to improve the performance of the copper powder.•The method integrates passivation, silver-coating, and coupling agent treatment.•The stability of the copper powder has been improved after the modification.•The sheet resistance of the conductive film is reduced to 15 mΩ.

The specific goal of the present study is to evaluate the surface performance of the copper particles and get excellent copper powder by surface modification. This paper proposes a combinative modification method integrating passivation, silver-coated, and coupling agent. As a result, after 600 h at room temperature the copper powder has the stabilization improved and is well combined with organic matters, and the sheet resistance of the film fabricated by the copper conductive filler is reduced to 15 mΩ. The performance of the copper powder has been greatly enhanced by the combinative modification, and the cost of the copper conductive filler is decreased significantly by this method. The results indicate that the combinative surface modification method can be used for practical electronic application.