Kinetics of Ag-coated Cu particles prepared by liquid phase reduction

Ag-coated Cu particles prepared by electroless deposition are highly anticipated bimetallic materials with wide electronic applications. However, only limited progress has been made in the kinetics and mechanism of chemical silver deposition on copper particles. A series of Ag-coated copper particles with uniform and continuous silver coverings were successfully prepared by varying the reaction temperature. The study used the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami model to conduct kinetic analyses, revealed the nucleation and growth mechanisms and yielded corresponding kinetic parameters. The temperature was found to have a proportional correlation with the reaction rate constant ( k), with an activation energy of approximately 10.01 kJ/mol. These particles exhibit exceptional oxidation resistance. Moreover, the particles were used to develop a new conductive paste with high electrical conductivity.