Novel chemical composition to reduce defects

A chemical composition and methods to remove defects while maintaining corrosion protection of conductors on a substrate are described. The composition includes a conductive solution, a corrosion inhibitor; and a surfactant. A surfactant-to-inhibitor ratio in the composition is a function of a metal. The surfactant is an anionic surfactant, a non-ionic surfactant, or any combination thereof. The concentration of the corrosion inhibitor in the chemical composition can be low. The corrosion inhibitor can form soft bonds with a conductor material. The conductive solution can be a high ionic strength solution. The composition is applied to a wafer having conductors on a substrate. At least two conductors on the substrate have different potentials. The composition can be used to clean the wafer after forming the conductors on the substrate. The composition can be used for chemical mechanical polishing of the wafer.