Short communication The effect of benzoic acid on the corrosion and stabilisation of electrodeposited copper powder M.G. Pavlovic ´ * , Lj.J. Pavlovic ´, I.D. Doroslovac ˇki F , N.D. Nikolic ´ Department of Electrochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Njegos ˇeva 12, Belgrade 11000, Serbia and Montenegro, Yugoslavia Received 3 April 2003; received in revised form 8 August 2003; accepted 11 August 2003 Abstract One of the main concerns in the production of electrolytic copper powder is stabilisation. Nonstabilised powder has a large surface area exposed to the effects of oxygen and moisture from the air. This leads to oxidation and formation of corrosion products on the grain surface and, in this way, the powder becomes unsuitable for sintering. Stabilisation is mostly obtained by interaction between the clean surface of the electrodeposited copper powder and a solution of an active substance, which inhibits the corrosion of copper powders. This work describes the stabilisation of copper powders using a new method. The oxygen content, moisture content, and corrosion resistance of the stabilised electrolytic copper powder were determined. These values are compared with the corresponding values of other corrosion inhibitors of copper powder. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Electrolytic copper powder; Stabilisation; Corrosion; Benzoic acid 1. Introduction Copper has been studied more extensively than any other metal, both theoretically and from the point of view of the development of technology for powder production (Calusaru, 1979; German, 1994; Pavlovic ´ et al., 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001; Popov and Pavlovic ´, 1992; Schatt and Wieters, 1997). Also the industrial output of copper powder is greater than that of any other metal powder (Calusaru, 1979; German, 1994; Schatt and Wieters, 1997). The largest consumer of copper powder is the electrotechnical industry, particularly the manufac- turers of electricity generators and motors. Copper powders have attracted attention as good conductive materials as their conductivity is higher than that of nickel powders (Kunio et al., 1991). They are also considerably cheaper than nickel and silver powders, but they easily corrode in moist air. Hence, it is very important to inhibit the corrosion of copper powders used for producing conductive composite materials where good conductivity and durability are essential. Electrolysis is not only the most economical method for the recovery of copper powder, but also the obtained 0304-386X/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.hydromet.2003.08.005 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +381-11-337-04-30; fax: +381- 11-337-03-89. E-mail address: duki@elab.tmf.bg.ac.yu (M.G. Pavlovic ´). F Deceased. www.elsevier.com/locate/hydromet Hydrometallurgy 73 (2004) 155 – 162