Catalytic activation of carbon fibres in electroless process of fabrication of metal-lized carbon fabrics
Jerzy Bieliński, Anna Sałacińska, Rafał Kozera, Alicja Bielińska, Anna Boczkowska Krzysztof J.Kurzydłowski
Quarterly No. 2, 2011 pages 174-179
DOI:
keywords: electroless Ni-P deposition, carbon fibers, catalytic activation, ultrasounds, microstructure
abstract The influence of metallization process parameters such as bath composition and deposition rate on the thickness and morphology of coatings were investigated. The role of bath composition (Ni-salt, reducer, complexing-buffering additive, stabilizer, surfactants), pH value, temperature and deposition time were studied. The requirements for C-fiber/Ni-P/Al alloy composite fabrication are limited to the P-content to 2÷3 wt.% and coating thickness to less than 1 μm. The metallization process, after proper carbon fiber pretreatment, was performed in baths containing: NiSO4, NaH2PO2, glycine, stabilizers and wetting agents. The pH value was shifted to the range of 4.5÷8.5, temperature 60÷80oC and deposition time from 5 to 60 min. As a substrate for the metallization process, roving and fabrics manufactured by Tenax (3-24k filaments in bundle with 7 μm diameter), as well as mullite test samples were used. The results of the experiments, limited to changes of pH in the bath, indicated that the ratio of NiSO4/NaH2PO2 concentration is the main factor determining the P-content and Ni-P deposition time. It is the best factor for fixing the coating thickness. The increase of the Ni-P coating thickness rate also depends on the quantity of carbon fibers in the roving.