Sciencemadness Discussion Board

copper conductive paint

CHRIS25 - 6-6-2012 at 12:53

decided to put this question on the board because amazon uk only sells silver conductive paint, and it is hard to find the copper conductive paint in Ireland.

So as usual I thought I could make it myself....? I have copper shavings which I collect from hours of filing, never throw anything away, actually it is more like copper powder granules. I have acetone and nail varnish to coat the non-conductive surface. Could I mix the two? that was my idea.

If anyone has a brainwave on this that would be nice. I know theoretically that I would need to coat the surface so that upon drying the paste would NOT expand, otherwise that would drive the copper dust particles apart. I know also that the paste would have to withstand a copper sulphate solution and not break apart. I realize that the copper from the anode only has to adhere to the copper inside the coating so theoretically the paste must not act as an electrical resistor and also I suppose needs to be permeable?, and since there are chemists amongst you I am wondering if you could point me and I would experiment. Thankyou.

[Edited on 6-6-2012 by CHRIS25]

crazyboy - 6-6-2012 at 18:18

Ascorbic acid can be used to form a very fine copper powder. http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=2654
chemoleo had success with boiling a solution of 10g CuSO4 and 5g of Vit C (ascorbic acid). The powder is reportedly very fine and may cling to objects, despite this you may need to mix it up to form a paste. Depending on the application you might be able to get away with wheat paste or thinned regular glue.