Removal of tarnishing and roughness of copper surface by electropolishing treatment

Tarnishing and roughness of copper surface can be removed by electropolishing treatment (EP) imparting a bright and smooth surface at suitable conditions, e.g. current density, time, temperature, and viscosity. It was carried out by using an electrolytic cell containing phosphoric acid 55% as the electrolytic solution. Both copper working electrode and lead counter electrode, and reference electrode (SCE) were connected to a Potentiostat/Galvanostat to allow an electric current to pass through the solution. Some additives such as soluble starch, ethylene glycol, and methanol were added to reduce defects formed on the copper surface during EP process. The results showed that the highest gloss value was obtained by applying electric potential 1.5 V at the passive region of polarization curve. The surface was investigated after EP treatment, where SEM and EDX showed lower roughness in case of addition of both soluble starch and ethylene glycol more than methanol. Moreover, AFM analysis showed the lowest roughness in case of soluble starch more than other additives.