Preparation of Metal–Polymer Composite Films by the Metal–Polymer Co-Electrodeposition Method

Co-epoxy composite films were synthesized by a newly developed electrochemical method, which may be termed a "metal-polymer co-electrodeposition method", i.e., the simultaneous deposition of Co and epoxy resin from a reaction solution containing Co(CH₃COO), glycine and water-soluble epoxy resin. Glycine acts as the complexing agent for Co²⁺. Using the FTIR and XPS, it emerged that the deposited films contained Co and epoxy. The composite films deposited from a Co²⁺ ion concentration higher than 35 mM in the reaction solution have low electrical resistance. Hep Co peaks were observed on the XRD pattern of these films. On the other hand, the composite films deposited from a Co²⁺ ion concentration lower than 30 mM have high resistance and no Co hep peaks were observed. These results suggest that the microstructure of the Co-epoxy films changed at a Co concentration of around 30 mM.