The pulsed electrodeposition of copper on stainless steel has been studied in copper sulphate bath and the effect of duty cycle and frequency on the thickness and current efficiencies were compared at 50°C and at room temperature with average current density of 4 A dm−2. A new strike bath based on cupric chloride and hydrochloric acid was developed for the first time. The Cu coatings were characterised by SEM, AFM and XRD. Crystallite sizes of Cu coatings were calculated for various duty cycles from the Scherer's equation. The deposits were smaller nodules and fine grained.

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