Galvanic corrosion of Cu is a critical issue during the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process of barrier layer, especially when KIO4 is used as the oxidant in the polishing slurry. This paper focuses on the investigation of galvanic corrosion inhibitors (BTA and 1, 2, 4-triazole) for Cu/Ru couple in the KIO4-based solutions. The galvanic corrosion current of Cu was directly measured, and the corrosion inhibition efficiencies (CIE) were calculated. Results show that both BTA and 1, 2, 4-triazole are effective galvanic corrosion inhibitors of Cu. The CIE of 5 mM BTA and 2 mM 1, 2, 4-triazole is up to 69.4 and 59.7, respectively. On this basis, the corrosion inhibition mechanism was proposed. BTA forms a complete and tight three-dimensional multilayer structure on Cu when the concentration is over 0.5 mM. With regard to 1, 2, 4-triazole, the protective film on Cu is two-dimensional, and excessive dosage of 1, 2, 4-triazole will reduce the stability of the surface film, as well as the corrosion inhibition efficiency of Cu. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.