Comparison of corrosion resistance of nanostructured copper produced in vacuum and electrolytic solution in neutral chloride media

Nanostructured thin film copper fabricated by electron beam-physical vapour deposition (EB-PVD) method has unique properties, which make it different from the other deposits. In this study, nanostructured copper deposits were produced by EB-PVD as well as pulse plating techniques. Transmission electron microscopy was used for investigating the morphology of the deposited film. Surface roughness of deposits was measured by DEKTAK profilometer. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarisation methods were used to study the corrosive behaviour of the films. The surface morphology of corroded samples was obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data obtained by polarisation, EIS and SEM suggested that corrosion resistance of EB-PVD deposit was higher than pulse plating deposit. This might be caused by its lower surface roughness and high purity owing to deposition in high vacuum.