Investigation of anomalous copper hydride phase during magnetic field-assisted electrodeposition of copper

Abstract

The electrodeposition of copper in the presence of a magnetic field has previously been shown to affect both electrochemical processes and the microstructure. In this work, we report a magnetically-induced anomalous second phase in thick films deposited with a current density of 500 mA/cm2 and 0.5 T magnetic field strength. Atom probe tomography suggests the phase is a combination of CuH and CuH2. Formation of the latter phases is likely induced by the applied magnetic field and indicates its role in promoting the hydrogen evolution reaction during deposition. Keywords: Electrodeposition, Magnetic field, Hydride, Hydrogen evolution reaction, Atom probe tomography