A sample of super copper foil Photo: Screenshot from CCTV

Chinese scientists have recently developed a high-performance copper foil that combines ultrahigh strength, high electrical conductivity and thermal stability. This breakthrough overcomes the long-standing trade-off among these properties and offers a new approach for manufacturing advanced copper foil used in mobile phone chips and lithium batteries, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. 

The research, led by Lu Lei of the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science of the Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences, was published in the journal Science on Friday, according to a statement released by the IMR. 

Copper foil, a key material for chip interconnects and lithium battery current collectors, directly impacts the stability of AI computing equipment and new energy systems, given it dual strategic significance for advanced industrial manufacturing and the new energy sector, according to the Science and Technology Daily. 

Conventional copper foil faces trade-offs between strength, electrical conductivity, and thermal stability, which limits its use in AI computing and advanced energy manufacturing. The research team overcame this by creating a 10-micrometer-thick copper foil that features nanoscale grains and periodically distributed gradient super-nano domains, each approximately 3 nanometers in size. The material was produced by using an industrially scalable electrodeposition process, according to CCTV. 

The new copper foil’s key performance indicators have reached internationally leading levels: A tensile strength of up to 900 megapascals, about twice that of conventional alloys. It retains 90 percent of the conductivity of high-purity copper, roughly double that of traditional copper alloys with comparable strength. In addition, it shows exceptional thermal stability, with no degradation after six months under normal conditions. 

Achieving breakthroughs in all three aspects means the material has effectively overcome the “impossible triangle” of strength, electrical conductivity and thermal stability, according to the IMR statement.

As a result, this super copper foil is expected to enable more precise smartphone chips and reduce overheating during prolonged use. It could also allow lithium batteries in new energy vehicles to be made thinner and safer, with lower energy loss during high-current charging, according to CCTV. 

More importantly, with strong potential for large-scale application, the technology provides a new technological pathway for high-end copper foil production, supporting greater self-reliance and control of China’s electronic information and new energy sectors, according to CCTV. 

Global Times