An impermeable copper surface monolayer with high-temperature oxidation resistance

Su Jae Kim; Young Hoon Kim; Bipin Lamichhane; Binod Regmi; Yousil Lee; Sang Hyeok Yang; Seon Je Kim; Min Hyoung Jung; Jae Hyuck Jang; Hu Young Jeong; Miaofang Chi; Maeng Je Seong; Hak Soo Choi; Seong Gon Kim; Young Min Kim; Se Young Jeong

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56709-w

An impermeable copper surface monolayer with high-temperature oxidation resistance

Su Jae Kim, Young Hoon Kim, Bipin Lamichhane, Binod Regmi, Yousil Lee, Sang Hyeok Yang, Seon Je Kim, Min Hyoung Jung, Jae Hyuck Jang, Hu Young Jeong, Miaofang Chi, Maeng Je Seong, Hak Soo Choi, Seong Gon Kim, Young Min Kim, Se Young Jeong

electron Microscopy and Microanalysis

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite numerous efforts involving surface coating, doping, and alloying, maintaining surface stability of metal at high temperatures without compromising intrinsic properties has remained challenging. Here, we present a pragmatic method to address the accelerated oxidation of Cu, Ni, and Fe at temperatures exceeding 200 °C. Inspired by the concept that oxygen (O) itself can effectively obstruct the pathway of O infiltration, this study proposes the immobilization of O on the metal surface. Through extensive calculations considering various elements (C, Al, Si, Ge, Ga, In, and Sn) to anchor O on Cu surfaces, Si emerges as the optimal element. The theoretical findings are validated through systematic sputtering deposition experiments. The introduction of anchoring elements to reinforce Cu–O bonds enables the formation of an atomically thin barrier on the Cu surface, rendering it impermeable to O even at high temperatures (400 °C) while preserving its intrinsic conductivity. This oxidation resistance, facilitated by the impermeable atomic monolayer, opens promising opportunities for researchers and industries to overcome limitations associated with the use of oxidizable metal films.

Original language	English
Article number	1462
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56709-w
State	Published - Dec 2025

Funding

This work was supported by Samsung Research Funding & Incubation Center of Samsung Electronics under Project Number SRFC-MA2202-02 for S.-Y.J., the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (no. NRF\u22122022R1I1A1A01071367 and RS\u22122023-00301938 (LAMP) for S.J.K.; NRF\u22122023R1A2C2002403 for Y.-M.K.; NRF\u22122020R1A5A1016518 for M.-J.S.; and NRF\u22122021R1A5A1032937, RS\u22122024-00406152, and RS-2024-00455226 for S.-Y.J.) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF). Y.-M.K. acknowledges the support of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS-R036-D1). Computer time allocation was provided by the High-Performance Computing Center (HPCC) for S.-G.K. at Mississippi State University. M.C. acknowledges support from the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering.

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Kim, S. J., Kim, Y. H., Lamichhane, B., Regmi, B., Lee, Y., Yang, S. H., Kim, S. J., Jung, M. H., Jang, J. H., Jeong, H. Y., Chi, M., Seong, M. J., Choi, H. S., Kim, S. G., Kim, Y. M., & Jeong, S. Y. (2025). An impermeable copper surface monolayer with high-temperature oxidation resistance. Nature Communications, 16(1), Article 1462. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56709-w

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abstract = "Despite numerous efforts involving surface coating, doping, and alloying, maintaining surface stability of metal at high temperatures without compromising intrinsic properties has remained challenging. Here, we present a pragmatic method to address the accelerated oxidation of Cu, Ni, and Fe at temperatures exceeding 200 °C. Inspired by the concept that oxygen (O) itself can effectively obstruct the pathway of O infiltration, this study proposes the immobilization of O on the metal surface. Through extensive calculations considering various elements (C, Al, Si, Ge, Ga, In, and Sn) to anchor O on Cu surfaces, Si emerges as the optimal element. The theoretical findings are validated through systematic sputtering deposition experiments. The introduction of anchoring elements to reinforce Cu–O bonds enables the formation of an atomically thin barrier on the Cu surface, rendering it impermeable to O even at high temperatures (400 °C) while preserving its intrinsic conductivity. This oxidation resistance, facilitated by the impermeable atomic monolayer, opens promising opportunities for researchers and industries to overcome limitations associated with the use of oxidizable metal films.",

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AU - Jeong, Hu Young

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AU - Seong, Maeng Je

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AB - Despite numerous efforts involving surface coating, doping, and alloying, maintaining surface stability of metal at high temperatures without compromising intrinsic properties has remained challenging. Here, we present a pragmatic method to address the accelerated oxidation of Cu, Ni, and Fe at temperatures exceeding 200 °C. Inspired by the concept that oxygen (O) itself can effectively obstruct the pathway of O infiltration, this study proposes the immobilization of O on the metal surface. Through extensive calculations considering various elements (C, Al, Si, Ge, Ga, In, and Sn) to anchor O on Cu surfaces, Si emerges as the optimal element. The theoretical findings are validated through systematic sputtering deposition experiments. The introduction of anchoring elements to reinforce Cu–O bonds enables the formation of an atomically thin barrier on the Cu surface, rendering it impermeable to O even at high temperatures (400 °C) while preserving its intrinsic conductivity. This oxidation resistance, facilitated by the impermeable atomic monolayer, opens promising opportunities for researchers and industries to overcome limitations associated with the use of oxidizable metal films.

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An impermeable copper surface monolayer with high-temperature oxidation resistance

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