Formation of composite nanostructures by corrosive deposition of copper into porous silicon

In this work we present a composite nanostructure based on PS-Cu and obtained by a corrosive deposition of Cu from an aqueous solution containing copper ions. PS samples of different porosities ranging from 15% to 75% were immersed in a 0.025 M CuSO4-5H(2)O + 0.005 M HF solution for different times. Scanning electron microscopy analysis was carried out to study the structural form of the PS-Cu nano-composite samples. It was clearly observed that Cu was deposited into and onto PS as nanosized granular film. Characteristic of Cu distribution, structural features of Cu film and factors that influence Cu film structure are described. It is shown that variation of PS porosity and corrosive deposition time provides formation of new composite PS-Cu structures. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.