Oxide Characterization of Copper Cold Spray Feedstock Powders with X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

In conventional powder processing, there has been considerable work on classifying feedstock powders based on particle size distribution, morphology, microstructure and composition, since these influence processability and final properties. Cold spray is a new application for powders and conventional characterization may be insufficient to assess powder cold sprayability. In particular, metallic powders have an oxide layer, which breaks during impact with the substrate or with another coating layer during cold spray; this fragmentation facilitates bonding. It has been suggested that the thickness of the oxide layer can influence the mechanism of fragmentation; thicker oxides are easier to remove, revealing clean metal surfaces that can metallurgically bond. Consequently, not all high-purity powders or powders that are stored in ambient conditions have the potential to give good coating properties after cold-spray. This work focuses on surface oxidation of the powders, characterizing the variation of oxide film aspects with size and composition of nominally pure copper powders using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicate the presence of Cu (I) and Cu (II) oxide species on the surface of as-received, naturally aged and heat-treated powders; their thickness is determined using the depth profiling feature.