Complexing agent study via computational chemistry for environmentally friendly silver electrodeposition and the application of a silver deposit

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new environmentally friendly silver electroplating bath, employing 5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DMH) and nicotinic acid (NA) as complexing agents, based on the prediction of computational chemistry. An excellent silver electrodeposit with properties suitable for application in electronics packaging was obtained from the newly developed silver electroplating bath, and the electroplating bath is simple and stable. Moreover, the silver(I)-complexes in this bath possessed good complex stability. As a consequence, mirror-bright silver electrodeposits on copper substrates with excellent leveling capability, smooth and compact morphologies, high purity and conductivity, as well as excellent welding property could be realized by adopting this unique bath. Based on the performances of the plating bath and silver deposit, the introduced silver plating bath is a promising candidate for silver electrodeposition applied in microelectronics to replace the conventional cyanide silver electroplating baths.