The reaction of oleic acid with copper surfaces

Thin Copper Flakes for Conductive Inks Prepared by Decomposition of Copper Formate and Ultrafine Wet Milling

“…Furthermore, in the O 1s region (Figure S5, Supporting Information), there is a small peak at 530.7 eV, indicating that some of the oxygen is bonded to copper. These findings correlate with two options: the chemisorption of the oleic acid to the copper surface via the carboxylic group, forming ester‐like species or due to the presence of Cu 2 O. Characteristic peaks for CuO (Cu 2+ , 934 eV) were not found, indicating the absence of this surface oxide as in the case of the copper particles before milling (Figure S1B, Supporting Information).…”

“…In order to form flakes, the obtained copper particles were milled with a solvent (dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether (DPM)) and oleic acid as the dispersing agent. DPM, which is widely used in ink formulations, was chosen because of its relatively low viscosity, while oleic acid is known to strongly bind to copper surfaces . The copper particles morphological transformation during milling is presented in Figure .…”

“…Characteristic peaks for CuO (Cu 2+ , 934 eV) were not found, indicating the absence of this surface oxide as in the case of the copper particles before milling (Figure S1B, Supporting Information). This may be explained by removal of the oxide by oleic acid, as it can rapidly react with copper oxide to form a complex. The formed complex was probably washed away from the particle surface into the surrounding solvent during the milling.…”

“…Carboxylic acids are often added to the milling process as surfactants/ dispersing agents. [3b] These acids can adsorb on the copper surface through a chemical bond between one or more of the oxygen atoms of the carboxyl group with a copper atom, as presented by Low with IR supporting measurements. This bond anchors the acid to the particle, positioning the alkyl chains facing away from the particle surface, thus coating the particles.…”

The removal of metal soaps from brass beads on a leather belt

“…For example, a copper oleate peak appeared in the IR reflection spectrum within minutes after oleic acid was rubbed onto a copper surface (Low et al, 1967). As a second example, when a mixture of oleic, palmitic, and stearic acid was applied to copper, half of the fatty acids were converted to copper soaps within four days, and all the fatty acids were converted within four months (Schrenk, 1991).…”