Synthesis and surface properties of polyamide-CuxSe composite thin films

A study of copper selenide (CuxSe) thin film deposition on PA 6 polymer surface via adsorption/diffusion method and the resulting surface properties is presented. A two stage process used to deposit these thin films involves (a) selenization in 0.1 M K2SeS2O6 at pH 2.15 and 60 °C followed by (b) treatment with 0.34 M Cu(II) and 0.06 M Cu(I) salt solution at 80 °C. Resulting chemical and physical properties of CuxSe films were investigated using XRD, XPS, SEM and sheet resistivity measurements. XRD data showed a complex mixture of CuxSe phases with peaks due to the elemental Se present at longer exposures. Thin film bulk elemental composition varied with the exposure time whereas XPS analysis showed surface to be slightly copper enriched. Additionally, mostly CuSe bonds were observed on the surface with minor oxidation products. SEM crossectional analysis showed distinct CuxSe film formation on PA 6 surface with thickness of ∼1-5 μm. Finally, it was found that sheet resistance of 150 ± 10 Ω/□ was achieved after 120 min of selenization for all samples and remained constant after longer exposures.