Roles of Nickel Layer Deposition on Surface and Electric Properties of Carbon Fibers

Abstract

Agency for Defense Development, Daejeon 305-600, KoreaReceived October 1, 2011, Accepted March 28, 2011Electroless plating of metallic nickel on carbon fiber surfaces was carried out to control specific electricresistivity of the fibers, and the effects of the nickel content and coating thickness on the electric properties werestudied. The structural and surface properties of the carbon fibers were characterized using X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The specificresistivity of the fibers was measured using a four-point probe testing method. From the XPS results, theoxygen and Ni atomic ratio of the fibers was greatly enhanced as the plating time increased. Additionally, itwas observed that the specific electric resistivity decreased considerably in the presence of metallic nickelparticles and with the formation of nickel layers on carbon fibers.Key Words : Metal plating, Specific resistivity, Carbon fibersIntroductionWith the rapid development of the electronics industry,especially as it pertains to personal computers and mobilesphones, the problem of electromagnetic interference (EMI)is increasing. One effective technique to solve the EMI pro-blem is to increase the electrical conductivity (or decreasespecific electric resistivity) of the plastic cages of electricdevices.