Abstract
A simple and chromium-free method for the metallization on engineering plastic polyamide-6 (PA6) by UV irradiation is proposed in this article. The surface graft polymers with specific adsorption activity are developed through one-step UV exposure operation, which captures Pd2+ in the activation process. The chemisorption of Pd2+ is further reduced into catalytic Pd0 to enable the substrate with catalytic nucleus for conventional copper electroless deposition (ELD). The grafting layer and the deposited copper coating are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results indicate that successful grafting occurs on PA6 after UV excitation. In addition, the as-deposited copper layer shows excellent conductive performance and high adhesion with the PA6 substrate. It’s expected that this emerging and feasible approach would have broad prospects for the metallization of plastic and offer significant value in the plating industry.
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