The Importance of Electroless Metallic Build-Up on Surface Modified Substrates for Multifunctional Engineering Applications: A Recent Progress Update

Abstract

Electroless plating is a widely used methodology adopted by the industries as well as the academia as it permits the deposition of the metal onto various substrates like metals, ceramics or polymer devoid the usage of electricity. Extensive investigations have been conducted over the past decades on electroless plating owing to its continuous and uniform deposition of metal onto any substrate without electricity, which helps in augmenting the strength, structure and corrosion resistance of the substrate. Electroless plating helps in converting non-conductive substrate conductive by metalizing the substrate, wherein the metallic layer is deposited onto the substrate. Platings can be specifically tailored for realizing coveted properties by selecting the composition for versatile engineering applications extending from electronics to automobiles to avionics. This review article enumerates the various metallic electroless plating like nickel, copper, gold and silver with respect to copious substrates like metals, ceramics and polymers for above-mentioned engineering applications.