Electroless deposition cathodic partial reaction

Paunovic [23] and Saito [24] first advanced the notion that an electroless deposition process could be modeled using a simple electrochemical approach. They reasoned that the potential of a surface undergoing electroless deposition could be regarded as a mixed potential intermediate in value between the potentials of its constituent anodic and cathodic partial reactions. These authors employed the mixed potential concept of corrosion reactions first outlined in a systematic manner by Wagner and... 

Figure 1 shows a generalized representation of an electroless deposition process obeying MPT [28]. Polarization curves are shown for the two partial reactions (full lines), and the curve expected for the full electroless solution (dashed curve). The polarization curve for anodic and cathodic partial reactions intersect the potential axis at their respective equilibrium potential values, denoted by / j]cd and respectively. At Emp, the anodic and cathodic partial current densities are equal, a... 

A discussion of the applicability of the MPT model to a particular electroless system ideally presumes knowledge of the kinetics and mechanisms of the anodic and cathodic partial reactions, and experimental verification of the interdependence or otherwise of these reactions. However, the study of the kinetics, catalysis, and mechanistic aspects of electroless deposition is an involved subject and is discussed separately. 

An electrochemical model for the process of electroless metal deposition was suggested by Paunovic (10) and Saito (8) on the basis of the Wagner-Traud (1) mixed-potential theory of corrosion processes. According to the mixed-potential theory of electroless deposition, the overall reaction given by Eq. (8.2) can be decomposed into one reduction reaction, the cathodic partial reaction. 

Interaction Between Partial Reactions. The original mixed-p)otential theory assumes that the two partial reactions are independent of each other (1). In some cases this is a valid assumption, as was shown earlier in this chapter. However, it was shown later that the partial reactions are not always independent of each other. For example, Schoenberg (13) has shown that the methylene glycol anion (the formaldehyde in an alkaline solution), the reducing agent in electroless copper deposition, enters the first coordination sphere of the copper tartrate complex and thus influences the rate of the cathodic partial reaction. Ohno and Haruyama (37) showed the presence of interference in partial reactions for electroless deposition of Cu, Co, and Ni in terms of current-potential curves. 

Thus, from the kinetic aspects, the cathodic partial reaction is an electrochemical reaction [Eq. (8.14)], which is preceded by a chemical reaction [Eq. (8.13)]. Paunovic (31) studied the first step in the cathodic partial reaction of electroless copper deposition by chronopotentiometry and potential sweep (potentiodynamic)... 

Fig. 1. Current-potential curves for a generalized electroless deposition reaction. The dashed line indicates the curve for the complete electroless solution. The partial anodic and cathodic currents are represented by ia and ic, respectively. Adapted from ref. 28. 

Donahue [37] was one of the first to discuss interactions between partial reactions in electroless systems, specifically electroless Ni with NaH2PC>2 reducing agent, where mention was made of an interaction between H2PO2 ions and the cathodic Ni2+ reduction reaction with a calculated reaction order of 0.7. Donahue also derived some general relationships that may be used as diagnostic criteria in determining if interactions exist between the partial reactions in an electroless solution. Many electroless deposition systems have been reported to not follow the MPT model. However, mention of these solutions may be best left to a discussion of the kinetics and mechanism of electroless deposition, since a study of the latter is usually necessary to understand the adherence or otherwise of an electroless solution to the MPT model. 

As discussed earlier, it is generally observed that reductant oxidation occurs under kinetic control at least over the potential range of interest to electroless deposition. This indicates that the kinetics, or more specifically, the equivalent partial current densities for this reaction, should be the same for any catalytically active feature. On the other hand, it is well established that the O2 electroreduction reaction may proceed under conditions of diffusion control at a few hundred millivolts potential cathodic of the EIX value for this reaction even for relatively smooth electrocatalysts. This is particularly true for the classic Pd initiation catalyst used for electroless deposition, and is probably also likely for freshly-electrolessly-deposited catalysts such as Ni-P, Co-P and Cu. Thus, when O2 reduction becomes diffusion controlled at a large feature, i.e., one whose dimensions exceed the O2 diffusion layer thickness, the transport of O2 occurs under planar diffusion conditions (except for feature edges). 

The second example is electroless deposition of copper from solutions containing dissolved oxygen (49,53). In this case the interfering reaction is the reduction of the oxygen, and the cathodic partial current density is the sum of two components ... 

It is well established that the overall electroless deposition reactions are basically electrochemical in nature, consisting of cathodic and anodic partial reactions occurring simultaneously on the same substrate surface ... 

Overall rate laws such as those discussed above are useful for obtaining information on which variables must be controlled more closely in order to maintain a constant deposition rate in practical electroless plating. However, overall rate laws do not provide any mechanistic information. Donahue and Shippey [14] proposed a method of deriving rate laws for partial anodic and cathodic processes in order to gain insight into the mechanism of electroless deposition reactions. If it is assumed that the anodic and cathodic partial processes may interact with each other, then the general rate laws for the partial reactions can be written as follows ... 

The experimental evidence described above clearly shows that the cathodic and anodic partial reactions interact with each other, and that such interactions are an essential part of the mechanism of electroless copper deposition. It should be noted that the interdependence of partial reactions has also been demonstrated by Bindra et al. [127], based on their results of kinetic and mechanistic analysis. 

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