Electrodeposition and properties of Zn, Cu, and Cu1−x Znx thin films

The electrodeposition of Cu, Zn and Cu-Zn deposits from the non-cyanide Zn sulphate and Cu sulphate reduced by citrate at constant stirring speed has been investigated. The composition of the Cu-Zn bath was shown to influence the morphology, electrical resistivity, phase composition, and Cu and Zn content of the Cu-Zn deposits. Their structural and electrical properties have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), cyclic voltammeter (CV) and current-voltage measurements against the temperature for electrical resistivity, respectively. XRD shows that Cu-Zn samples are polycrystalline phase. Resistivity results show that the copper film exhibits bigger residual resistivity than both the zinc and the Cu-Zn alloy. Theoretical calculations of the XRD peaks demonstrate that the average crystallite size of the Cu-Zn alloy decreased and microstrain increased when the Cu alloyed with zinc.