During the coating of metal plates by carboxyl-containing polymers from their solutions or dispersions, adsorption of the polymer onto the surface and oxidation of the metal by oxygen take place. Adsorption of polyacrylic acid and its copolymers with acrylonitrile at the copper surface and kinetics of copper dissolving in the presence of carboxyl-containing polymers and hydrogen peroxide have been investigated. The adsorption of polymers at the surface of the copper powder passes through a maximum when the content of acrylonitrile in copolymers rises. The rate at which copper dissolves increases with increased polymer concentration in solution, reaching a constant value, and does not depend on the hydrogen peroxide concentration. The rate at which copper dissolves depends on the rate of copper oxidation by hydrogen peroxide in the adsorption layer and the rate of polymer desorption. The increase of the solution pH leads to a decrease in the adsorption of polyacrylic acid at the copper surface and the rate at which copper dissolves in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.