The electroless metal plating process over ABS plastic by using ionic liquids

Electroless metal plating is a coating technique which relies on reduction of metal ions with an autocatalytic chemical reduction process. Ionic liquids are defined as compounds that are sensitive to the environment due to their low pressure that can be negligible, their high heat resistance, and a higher ionic conductivity, to be electrochemically rich, to have wide open liquid range, to have a range of high polar solubility. In this study, the effects of ionic liquids were investigated in the electroless metal plating process over ABS plastic. For this purpose electroless baths were prepared by using two different types of ionic liquids (EMIC & DCA) for copper and nickel plating. Experiments were carried out with 120-500 grit sandpaper and at 80°C plating bath temperature for 30-120 minutes of deposition time and at different pH values as 8-9. X-Ray XDL-B System, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used for the characterization and the amount of deposits. According to the experimental and analytical results, the metal plating on ABS plastic was succeeded with two different ionic liquid additions. On the contrary of the traditional processes with chromic and sulphuric acids, the etching and the plating processes were performed with environmentally friendly chemicals. In this way, both it will be provided a significant benefit to public health, and it will be brought innovation to the metal plating industry with the environmentally friendly ionic liquid catalyst.