Electroless Plating Method Research Articles

Core-shell structured h-BN@Ni reinforced CoCrNi-based self-lubricating composites

h-BN solid lubricant is added for reinforcing the wear resistance and strength of CoCrNi medium entropy alloy (MEA). However, the poor wettability of h-BN with alloy substrates limits its engineering application. Herein, core-shell structured h-BN@Ni powders were prepared to improve the wettability of h-BN and CoCrNi MEA matrix. Specifically, h-BN@Ni powders were manufactured by a new electroless plating method with silver nitrate activation. The results indicate that the effect of using silver nitrate is comparable to or even superior to that of palladium or ChCl-EG ionic liquid additive, while the cost required to prepare h-BN@Ni powders is much lower than the other two. Further, CoCrNi-based self-lubricating composites were prepared by powder metallurgy. The results demonstrate that the nickel coating improves the wettability between h-BN and CoCrNi matrix, resulting the enhanced strength, plasticity and wear resistance of CoCrNi/BN@Ni. Specifically, the yield and tensile strengths of CoCrNi/BN@Ni MEA are about 15.0 % and 14.7 % higher than CoCrNi MEA, respectively. The strain of CoCrNi/BN@Ni MEA is approximately 12 % and 19 % higher than that of CoCrNi/BN MEA and CoCrNi MEA, respectively. Moreover, CoCrNi/BN@Ni MEA has a lower wear rate than the other two by about 26.4 %, and the hardness of CoCrNi composites with h-BN or h-BN@Ni is about 11.8 % higher than CoCrNi MEA.

Facile Electroless Plating Method to Fabricate a Nickel-Phosphorus-Modified Copper Current Collector for a Lean Lithium-Metal Anode.

The compatibility of current collectors with reactive Li is key to inducing stable Li cycling and prolonged cycle life of lean Li-metal batteries. Herein, a thin and uniform layer of Ni-P complex was built on the surface of a Cu current collector (NiP@Cu) via an efficient, controllable, and cost-effective electroless plating method. The thickness, morphology, composition, and roughness of the Ni-P deposition were successfully regulated. Lithiophilicity of the current collector was greatly improved by Ni-P deposition, which effectively reduced the Li nucleation overpotential and suppressed the Li dendrite growth. In addition, NiP@Cu promoted an inorganic LiF/Li3P-rich solid electrolyte interphase to facilitate interfacial charge transfer and eliminate excessive side reactions between Li and the electrolyte. As a result, the Coulombic efficiency of half-cells remained above 98.5% for more than 400 cycles at 0.5 mA/cm2 and 98.2% for more than 250 cycles at 1 mA/cm2. Full cells with NiP@Cu also showed superior performance compared to those with bare Cu. This work proposes a promising surface modification method to develop a stable, dendrite-free, and cost-effective anode current collector for high-energy-density lean Li-metal batteries.

Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticle-decorated coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads and their application in antistatic polypropylene composites

A conductive powder of coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads (CMs) coated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles was synthesized by a simplified electroless plating method. CMs were coated with uniform and dense Ag nanoparticles ([email protected]) to form a conductive structure consisting of internal conductive channels and a surface coating layer. The powder volume resistivity of [email protected] reached 1.47 Ω·cm. Subsequently, [email protected] were mixed with polypropylene (PP) to prepare an [email protected]@PP composite with a volume resistivity of 3.35 × 105 Ω·cm, a tensile strength of 26.06 MPa, and an elongation at break of 43.09%. Due to the high specific surface area (65.41 m2/g), small particle size (8.13 μm), and low density (1.51 g/cm3) of [email protected], the [email protected]@PP composite had better volume resistivity and mechanical properties than the PP composite filling with commercial silver-plated glass beads. The findings of this research could provide a theoretical foundation for future applications of [email protected]

A two-step electroless plating method for Pd composite membranes with enhanced hydrogen selectivity and superior high-temperature stability

Thin Pd membranes were deposited on modified porous YSZ-Al2O3 tubes using a two-step electroless plating (ELP) method for hydrogen separation and purification. The two-step ELP method consists of the first ELP, the heat treatment and the second ELP. The effects of heat treatment conditions in the two-step ELP on the hydrogen selectivity and high-temperature stability of Pd composite membranes were investigated. Pd membranes prepared by different processes exhibit different microstructure and permeation performance. The result shows that Pd membranes prepared by the two-step ELP method and the high-temperature heat treatment (923 K) above the Tamman temperature of pure Pd (> 913 K) between two ELP exhibit the best performance, which is mainly attributed to the two-layer membrane structure and the small Pd crystals in the membranes. The Pd membrane with a thickness of ~6.5 µm prepared via above process exhibited a high and stable hydrogen permeation flux (~0.359 mol H2 m−2 s−1) and a significantly high H2/N2 selectivity (~12,413) for a long-term permeation of 100 h at 873 K under a pressure difference of 0.1 MPa.

Study of a system for creating a statistical model of the electroless plating of Cu-Ni-P alloys

ABSTRACT The electroless plating method is the most convenient for the metallisation of dielectrics. During this statistical study of the process, complex relationships were found between the composition of the electrolyte and the deposition regime. The complexity of this technology is an important multifactorial object of the study. An adequate linear regression model for electroless deposition of Cu-Ni-P alloy coatings was obtained by conducting a planned factorial experiment. It allows predicting the thickness of the electroless deposited alloy coating based on certain values of the input parameters (concentrations of copper sulphate, nickel sulphate and sodium hypophosphite) in the studied factor space, as well as further optimisation of the process.

Nickel/porous carbon derived from rice husk with high microwave absorption performance

BHPC (biomass hierarchical porous carbon) is a new microwave absorption material with extraordinarily low density, excellent dielectric loss, and a low environmental impact. In this paper, a Ni/BHPC composite is introduced, which were fabricated using a simple electroless plating method. When the NiSO4 concentration is changed, the electromagnetic characteristics and absorption performance are optimized. The Ni/BHPC composite material exhibits excellent absorption characteristics at a NiSO4 concentration of 0.2 mol/L. With a thickness of 2.7 mm, the RLmin is −58.504 dB at 10.741 GHz. In the frequency range 8.221–12.4 GHz, with a thickness of 2.9 mm, this reflection loss (RL) is less than −10 dB. These results indicate that incorporating Ni particles into the BHPC enhances its wave absorption efficiency. The research contributes to develop high-performance porous carbon microwave absorption materials from biomass.

Guided lithium nucleation and growth on lithiophilic tin-decorated copper substrate

Lithium metal is the ultimate anode choice for high energy rechargeable lithium batteries owing to its ultra-high theoretical capacity, however, Li dendrites and low Coulombic efficiency (CE) caused by disordered Li plating restrict its practical application. Herein, we develop an ultrathin Sn-decorated Cu substrate (Sn@Cu) fabricated by an electroless plating method to induce ordered Li nucleation and growth behavior. The lithiophilic Sn interfacial layer is found to play a critical role to lower the Li nucleation over-potential and promote fast Li-migration kinetics, and the underlying mechanism is revealed using the first principle calculations. Accordingly, a dense dendrite-free and Li deposition with large granular morphology is obtained, which significantly improved the CE and cycling performance of Li||Sn@Cu half cells symmetric cells. Symmetric cells using the Li-Sn@Cu electrode display a much-prolonged life span (>1200 h) with low overpotential (∼18 mV) at a high current density of 1 mA cm−2. Moreover, full cells paired with commercial LiFePO4 cathode (1.8 mAh cm−2) deliver enhanced cycling stability (0.5 C, 300 cycles) and excellent rate performance. This work provides a simple and effective way to bring about high efficiency and long lifespan substrates for practical applications.

Wood-Based Composites with High Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effectiveness and Ultra-Low Reflection

With the aggravation of electromagnetic radiation pollution, it is urgent to develop green, lightweight, ultra-thin and high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding materials to eliminate unnecessary electromagnetic interference; however, the construction of wood-based high-performance electromagnetic shielding materials by simple methods remains a challenge. Based on the layer-by-layer assembly strategy, a lightweight Ni/Wood/Ni composite (NWNC) with an interlayer structure was constructed by a simple electroless plating method using natural wood as a substrate for electromagnetic interference shielding. The synthesized NWNC has a smooth surface, and its minimum surface roughness is only 8.34 μm. After 15 min of electroless nickel plating, the contact angle (CA) of NWNC with an ultra-thin nickel layer (65 μm) was 118.3°. When the thickness of the nickel layer is only 0.102 mm, the conductivity can reach 1659.59 S/cm when the three electroless nickel plating time is 15 min. In the L-band, the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness can reach 94.1 dB after three times electroless nickel plating for 20 min. This is due to the conductive loss, magnetic loss and interface polarization loss generated by the electromagnetic network constructed by the nickel layer, which makes the composite material produce an electromagnetic shielding mechanism dominated by absorption. The L-band absorption efficiency can reach 39.01 dB, and due to the porous structure of the original wood, the multiple reflection and absorption inside the wood further lose the electromagnetic wave. This study provides a low-cost and simple method for the design of light, ultra-thin and efficient controllable wood-based electromagnetic shielding materials and has broad application prospects in the fields of construction and aerospace.

Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of nickel/nickel phosphide on carbon nanotubes as highly effective electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline solution

Nickel phosphides are considered to be excellent non-noble metal electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the HER activity of nickel phosphides is still not ideal due to their relatively weak electrical conductivity. The HER performance can be enhanced by combining nickel phosphides with highly conductive materials. Here, nickel and nickel phosphide nanoparticles supported on pristine carbon nanotubes (Ni-Ni12P5/CNTs) were prepared through an ultrasonic electroless plating method. The combination of Ni-Ni12P5 active sites and the CNTs with good conductivity made the Ni-Ni12P5/CNTs good HER electrocatalytic performance with an overpotential of 120 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 53 mV dec−1. Coupled with the outstanding chemical stability of CNTs and their strong chemical bonds with Ni-Ni12P5, the Ni-Ni12P5/CNTs electrocatalyst possessed good stability in 0.1 M KOH electrolyte solution. The ultrasonic electroless plating offers a new way for facile designing of transition metal composites with improving electrocatalytic performance toward HER.

The novel approach of EMI shielding simulation for metal coated nonwoven textiles with optimized textile module

This paper presents one efficient and accurate EMI shielding performance simulation method for metal particles coated on nonwoven textile-based material with the optimized textile module using the finite element method (FEM) simulated in the waveguide model. Copper particles coated polyester nonwoven materials with three contents of copper were made by the electroless plating method, which was used to evaluate the results from the EMI shielding test and simulation run. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and p-value from the two samples' t-tests show that the simulation results of the two samples are less than 6.08%, and the p-value is more than 0.05. For the rest of one sample, the error of simulated value to measured value is higher (<10%) caused by the low copper content. By adjusting the parameters, the simulation result shows that reduce 10% of the sample porosity, the SE at 1.5 GHz is increased from 7.7% to 9.9%, which is the preferred method to increase the SE compared to adjusting the coating material.

The Cation Role in Ion Transport Selectivity of Gold-Plated Nanotubes

Ion permselectivity is an important ionic transport property exhibited in nanopores and nanotubes. Permselectivity develops due to the strong interactions between ions in solution and the nanopore/nanotube surfaces. Here, we study the ion permselectivity of gold-plated nanotube membranes. Gold-plated membranes were obtained by using an electroless gold plating method to deposit gold nanotubes into the pores and on the faces of track-etched polycarbonate membranes. These membranes have the potential to display cation permselectivity due to the excess surface charge density present on the membrane from chemisorbed Cl- anions. The cation permselectivity of membranes with 9.9 + 0.6 nm diameter nanotubes was studied potentiometrically by using a concentration cell. A new Debye-sphere based model was presented here to describe the extent of permselectivity. However, some ion specific effects with the gold-plated membrane are observed that cannot be interpreted by Debye theory. These ion-specific surface interactions lead to a reduction in the negative surface charge, causing no permselectivity for some cations as demonstrated by their lower than ideal cation transference numbers. Quantification of the surface charge density by XPS indicated the gold-plated membranes are highly charged due to Cl- chemisorption with a surface charge density of ~ 5.3 uC per cm2 corresponding to 3.3 x 1013 Cl--ions per cm2.

Lotus leaf-like Ni-decorated SiC with combined superhydrophobicity and enhanced microwave absorption performance

The m-(Ni@SiC)P composite particles were firstly prepared by surface chemical modification of industrial coarse-grained SiC particles [named as (SiC)P] using a simple and environmentally friendly electroless plating method. Unexpectedly, it is occasionally found that the (Ni@SiC)P possess superhydrophobic properties with contact angle of 156° after storage for a long period (> 360 days). The obtained particles [named as s-(Ni@SiC)P] can form a superhydrophobic film with lotus leaf effect when they are mixed with water. To reveal the underlying formation mechanism of the surprising superhydrophobicity, systematic morphology-composition characterization was carried out. It shows that the microstructure of the surface of s-(Ni@SiC)P is similar to that of natural lotus leaf with numerous random distributed papillae-like protruded pillars. Combined with XRD and XPS analysis, this surprising superhydrophobicity is attributed to the spontaneous formation of unique micro/nano hierarchical rough surface with some Ni oxidizing to NiO under ambient condition during long-term storing. More importantly, they can exhibit excellent microwave absorption performance. When the sample thickness is 2.0 mm, the minimum reflection loss value is −35.78 dB. Moreover, when the thickness is 1.5 mm, the minimum reflection loss value is −20.3 dB and the effective absorption bandwidth is 2.6 GHz. Our results demonstrate that this simple yet effective method can improve both hydrophobic properties and microwave absorption performance, further expanding the potential application scopes of SiC-based materials.

Tailoring microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminum matrix composites reinforced with novel Al/CuFe multi-layered core-shell particles

Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs), reinforced with novel pre-synthesized Al/CuFe multi-layered core- shell particles, were fabricated by different consolidation techniques to investigate their effect on microstructure and mechanical properties. To synthesize multi-layered Al/CuFe core-shell particles, Cu and Fe layers were deposited on Al powder particles by galvanic replacement and electroless plating method, respectively. The core-shell powder and sintered compacts were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), pycnometer, microhardness and compression tests. The results revealed that a higher extent of interfacial reactions, due to the transformation of the deposited layer into intermetallic phases in spark plasma sintered composite, resulted in high relative density (99.26%), microhardness (165 HV0.3) and strength (572 MPa). Further, the presence of un-transformed Cu in the shell structure of hot-pressed composite resulted in the highest fracture strain (20.4%). The obtained results provide stronger implications for tailoring the microstructure of AMCs through selecting appropriate sintering paths to control mechanical properties.

Regulating microstructure, mechanical properties and electrochemical characteristic of 2024-CNTs aluminum composites via decorating nano Ni on the surface of CNTs

CNTs are decorated uniformly with nano Ni through electroless plating method (CNTs@Ni). Average contact angle with 2024 aluminum alloy reduces from 138.6° to 81.2°, significantly improving wetting of CNTs. CNTs@Ni are used as the reinforcement to fabricate 2024-CNTs@Ni composites via high-intensity ultrasonic-assisted casting method. The appropriate content of CNTs@Ni assists 2024-CNTs@Ni composites to obtain excellent microstructure, mechanical properties and electrochemical corrosion resistance. When the CNTs@Ni content is 1.5 wt%, CNTs@Ni are uniformly dispersed, uniform organization and grain refinement is most significant according to the results of scanning electron microscopy. CNTs@Ni composites exhibit more excellent mechanical properties than cast 2024 aluminum alloy. This results from a synergy of grain refinement strengthening, thermal mismatch strengthening, Orowan strengthening and load-bearing strengthening. The percentage contribution of each strengthening mechanism is calculated for composites with different CNTs@Ni content. In addition, 2024–1.5 wt% CNTs@Ni composites show better electrochemical characteristic with higher corrosion potential of −603.792 mv and lower corrosion current density of 102.332 μA·cm−2. Cl− ions are more resisted because of Ni introduction. The large number of dislocations accelerates the diffusion of elements, which expedites formation of thicker protective films to resist corrosion. The phenomenon of “large anode - small cathode” improves the electrochemical corrosion resistance.

Conductive Chitosan Nonwoven Fabrics by Electroless Plating with Excellent Laundering Durability for Wearable Electronics

ABSTRACT Silver-plated chitosan fabrics with excellent conductivity and launderability were obtained via the electroless plating method. Due to the high content of amino and hydroxyl groups, chitosan can provide active sites for the formation of complexes with silver ions which can be further reduced to a silver layer on the surface of chitosan fibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that chitosan/Ag nanocomposite fabrics displayed a uniform and continuous layer of silver on the chitosan fiber surface. The hydrophilic surface of chitosan fabrics became hydrophobic due to the plated silver. Thermogravimetric analysis displayed that the initial decomposition temperature of silver-plated fabrics increased slightly. The treated fabrics exhibited a very low electrical resistance of 20.23 mΩ/sq. After 40 washing cycles, the electrical resistance was still below 1 Ω/sq. It is expected that such novel conductive fabrics have promising applications in the field of wearable electronics materials.

Effects of Electroless NiSnP Plating Bath Composition with High Sn Containing Deposited Film

Many studies have investigated Ni-Sn alloy because it has good luster and excellent corrosion resistance. Electroplating methods have already reached a practical level of applicability, but electroless plating methods have not reached such a degree of utility because they present difficulties such as insufficient film thickness and low Sn content in the deposited film. Therefore, we fixed the bath temperature and stirring under the operating conditions and studied details of the plating bath composition to deposit a film with a high Sn content of 50 wt% or more using electroless plating.

Fabrication of Titanium and Copper-Coated Diamond/Copper Composites via Selective Laser Melting.

The poor wettability and weak interfacial bonding of diamond/copper composites are due to the incompatibility between diamond and copper which are inorganic nonmetallic and metallic material, respectively, which limit their further application in next-generation heat management materials. Coating copper and titanium on the diamond particle surface could effectively modify and improve the wettability of the diamond/copper interface via electroless plating and evaporation methods, respectively. Here, these dense and complex composites were successfully three-dimensionally printed via selective laser melting. A high thermal conductivity (TC, 336 W/mK) was produced by 3D printing 1 vol.% copper-coated diamond/copper mixed powders at an energy density of 300 J/mm3 (laser power = 180 W and scanning rate = 200 mm/s). 1 and 3 vol.% copper-coated diamond/copper composites had lower coefficients of thermal expansions and higher TCs. They also had stronger bending strengths than the corresponding titanium-coated diamond/copper composites. The interface between copper matrix and diamond reinforcement was well bonded, and there was no cracking in the 1 vol.% copper-coated diamond/copper composite sample. The optimization of the printing parameters and strategy herein is beneficial to develop new approaches for the further construction of a wider range of micro-sized diamond particles reinforced metal matrix composites.

Effect of annealing process on the hydrogen permeation through Pd–Ru membrane

In this paper, we report the effect of the annealing process on the hydrogen permeation in/through Pd–Ru membranes. Pd–Ru membranes were deposited via sequential electroless plating method and annealed at different atmospheres and temperatures. The membranes were characterized by XRD, AES, SEM and hydrogen permeation test. The result shows that Ru is amorphous for the as-deposited Pd–Ru membrane. After annealing in H2, N2 atmospheres and vacuum at temperatures higher than 923 K, amorphous Ru transformed into crystalline Ru, and bubble-like cavities appear. The membrane annealed in H2 has larger and more bubble-like cavities compared with those annealed in N2 and vacuum. And the hydrogen permeabilities of Pd–Ru membranes annealed in H2, N2 atmospheres and vacuum decrease by 45–67% compared with that of the original as-deposited one. Furthermore, after annealed in hydrogen permeation process, the Pd–Ru membrane keeps compact and defect-free, and the Ru membrane remains in amorphous state. The hydrogen permeability of such Pd–Ru membrane is 1.2–1.3 times higher than that of the as-deposited one, which is mainly attributed to the dense structure and amorphous Ru in the membrane.

Electromagnetic and microwave absorption properties of Ag wrapped MXene composite with frequency selective surface incorporation

MXene has become a promising absorbing material because of its advantages of light weight, large specific surface area and special lamellar structure. In this work, Ag wrapped MXene (Ag@MXene) composite powders were prepared by an electroless plating method to achieve excellent absorbing performance. The phase compositions, morphology and electromagnetic properties of the Ag@MXene composite with various contents of Ag were characterized. XRD results indicated the Ag simple substance was successfully reduced from the solution. SEM images showed the Ag particles were coated on the MXene surface, and the silver layer become denser as well as more homogeneous with the rising content of Ag. As the weight ratio of Ag increased from 0 to 30 wt%, the real part increased from 10 to 17.1 while the imaginary part rose from 1.6 to 4.7, which resulted from the gradually formation of conductive network. The sample containing Ag@MXene powders with 30 wt% Ag exhibited the optimal microwave absorption performance. The minimum reflection loss was −29 dB at 9.8 GHz with a thickness of 2.0 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth was about 2.0 GHz. After incorporating with frequency selective surface (FSS), the absorbing performance was further improved and the effective absorption bandwidth reached to 3.96 GHz (8.36–12.32 GHz). The results show that wrapping MXene with Ag nanoparticles and incorporating with FSS can develop a novel absorber.

A self-healing and flexible Ag@carbon fiber/polyurethane composite based on disulfide bonds and application in electromagnetic interference shielding

With the wide application of electronic equipment, the demand for the efficient performance of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials has become increasingly urgent to meet different requirements and electromagnetic environments. In this study, a flexible composite with both self-healing and reliable EMI shielding functions was facilely developed. Firstly, we synthesize Ag@Carbon fiber (CF) by electroless plating method, and we can see that the silver layer wrapped CF completely by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Then we synthesize polyurethane (PU) with disulfide, and mix Ag@CF with PU mechanically to prepare Ag@CF/PU composite. Ag@CF/PU achieved satisfactory mechanical properties, EMI shielding performance and self-healing performance. When the filler content was 3 wt%, the tensile strength of composite was 1.63 MPa, the highest EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) was 10.3 dB at X-band, and self-healing efficiency of tensile strength was 96%. With the increase of filler content, the tensile strength and EMI SE of composite improved, and self-healing efficiency decrease. When the filler content was 20 wt%, the tensile strength was 7.95 MPa, the highest EMI SE was 26 dB and self-healing efficiency of tensile strength was 28%. This work demonstrated a self-healing flexible EMI shielding composite material that ensured reliability.