Oxidation of copper alloys studied by analytical transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional specimens

Journal of Materials Research volume 23, pages1350–1357(2008)Cite this article

Abstract

In this work, the oxide structures of three polycrystalline copper grades, unalloyed oxygen-free (OF) copper and alloyed CuAg and deoxidized high-phosphor (DHP) copper, were studied using cross-sectional analytical transmission electron microscopy (AEM) samples. The oxidation treatments were carried out in air at 200 and 350 °C for different exposure times. The detailed oxide layer structures were characterized by AEM. At 200 °C, a nano-sized Cu2O layer formed on the all copper grades. At 350 °C, a nano-sized Cu2O layer formed first on the all copper grades. After longer exposure time at 350 °C, a crystalline CuO layer grew on the Cu2O layer of the unalloyed OF-copper. In the case of the alloyed CuAg- and DHP-copper, a crystalline and columnar shaped layer, consisting of Cu2O and CuO grains, formed on the nanocrystalline Cu2O layer. At 350 °C, the unalloyed copper oxidized notably slower than the alloyed coppers, and its oxide structures were different than those of the alloyed coppers.

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Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully thank The National Technology Agency of Finland (TEKES) for financial support.

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  1. Department of Materials Science, Tampere University of Technology, FIN-33101, Tampere, Finland

    Mari Honkanen, Minnamari Vippola & Toivo Lepistö

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  1. Mari Honkanen
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  2. Minnamari Vippola
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  3. Toivo Lepistö
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Correspondence to Mari Honkanen.

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Honkanen, M., Vippola, M. & Lepistö, T. Oxidation of copper alloys studied by analytical transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional specimens. Journal of Materials Research 23, 1350–1357 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0160

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