The Short Answer
Choose copper foam when heat or electrical current has to move as fast as possible. Choose nickel foam when the part has to survive alkaline electrolytes, higher temperatures or corrosive environments. Copper conducts heat about four times better than nickel, which makes copper foam the first choice for heat sinks, phase change material composites and current collectors. Nickel resists alkaline corrosion and melts about 370 °C higher, which makes nickel foam the standard for water electrolysis, rechargeable battery electrodes and hot or wet filtration.
Moving heat or current in a dry, mild environment: copper. Standing up to electrolyte, heat or corrosion: nickel. Need a lower-cost structural or filtration foam: consider iron or nickel-iron.
Property Comparison
The table compares the base metals. A foam's effective properties are much lower than the solid metal and depend on porosity and pore size, but the ratio between copper and nickel carries over.
| Property (bulk metal, approx.) | Nickel foam | Copper foam |
|---|---|---|
| Thermal conductivity | ~90 W/m·K | ~400 W/m·K |
| Electrical resistivity | ~7 µΩ·cm | ~1.7 µΩ·cm |
| Melting point | ~1455 °C | ~1085 °C |
| Alkaline corrosion resistance | Excellent | Limited, oxidizes |
| Oxidation in air when hot | Forms protective oxide | Oxidizes readily |
| Magnetism | Ferromagnetic | Non-magnetic |
| Density | ~8.9 g/cm³ | ~8.96 g/cm³ |
| Catalytic activity | Active for hydrogen and oxygen evolution in alkaline media | Distinct selectivity for CO2 electroreduction |
Where Copper Foam Wins
Battery thermal management. Paraffin and other phase change materials absorb heat well but conduct it poorly. A copper foam skeleton fixes that. In one 2025 study, paraffin in 10 PPI copper foam reached 4.42 W/m·K, and in a four-cell module at 3C discharge it lowered peak temperature from 75.9 °C to 44.6 °C and cut the cell-to-cell temperature difference from 10.2 °C to 1.2 °C.
Heat sinks and heat exchangers. Where airflow or liquid passes through the foam, copper's conductivity carries heat from the base into the whole pore network. Electronics cooling, power modules and LED thermal management all benefit.
Current collectors and conductive skeletons. Copper's low resistivity suits current collectors, including research on lithium-metal anodes, where a 3D copper host spreads current and lithium deposition more evenly.
Electrochemical CO2 reduction. Copper is widely studied as a catalyst for converting CO2 into fuels and chemicals, and copper foam gives it a high-surface 3D form.
Where Nickel Foam Wins
Water electrolysis. Industrial alkaline electrolyzers run in 25–30 wt.% KOH and rely on porous nickel electrodes such as nickel foam, and AEM electrolyzers widely use nickel porous transport layers. Copper is not stable at the oxygen-evolution electrode. Read our nickel foam electrolysis buyer's guide.
Rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors. Nickel foam has long served as the electrode substrate in nickel-based batteries and is a common current collector for supercapacitor and battery research in alkaline electrolytes.
Hot, wet or corrosive filtration. Nickel and nickel-iron foams hold up in humid, oily and hot gas streams where copper would tarnish or oxidize.
EMI shielding. Nickel's magnetic permeability adds magnetic loss on top of conductive reflection, which helps at lower frequencies. Copper shields well by conduction alone and is preferred where magnetism must be avoided.
Decision Guide by Application
| Application | Recommended foam | Main reason |
|---|---|---|
| Alkaline or AEM electrolyzer electrode / PTL | Nickel | Alkaline stability, catalytic activity |
| Battery pack PCM thermal management | Copper | Highest thermal conductivity |
| Electronics heat sink, heat exchanger | Copper | Heat spreading through the pore network |
| Nickel-based battery or supercapacitor electrode | Nickel | Stable in alkaline electrolyte |
| Lithium-metal anode host (research) | Copper | Conductivity, no alloying with lithium |
| CO2 electroreduction | Copper | Catalytic selectivity |
| EMI shielding near magnetic sensors | Copper | Non-magnetic |
| EMI shielding, broad frequency | Nickel | Conductive plus magnetic loss |
| Hot, humid or oily gas filtration | Nickel or nickel-iron | Corrosion and oxidation resistance |
| Aluminum casting filtration | Iron | Strength and cost |
Copper and nickel prices move with the metal markets, so the cheaper foam changes over time. Ask for a quote on both when a design could work with either, and consider nickel-plated copper or nickel-copper alloy foam when you need copper's conductivity with better surface durability.
What to Specify, Whichever You Choose
Give your supplier the same parameter set for either metal: purity, pore size (PPI), porosity, thickness and tolerance, areal density (g/m²), sheet size or roll width, and surface condition. For thermal parts, add whether the foam will be brazed or bonded to a base plate. For electrochemical parts, add the electrolyte and operating potential so the supplier can flag stability issues early.
Get Both From One Supplier
PrometheanFoam supplies nickel, copper, iron and nickel-iron foam in sheets, rolls and custom die-cut sizes from one of the largest non-aluminum metal foam production bases, with ISO 9001:2015 certified production and guaranteed supply. Custom PPI, thickness from 0.3 mm and custom alloys, including nickel-copper, are available, and every order ships with material certificates.