Electromagnetic shielding wood-based composite from electroless plating corrosion-resistant Ni–Cu–P coatings on Fraxinus mandshurica veneer

A novel and simple electroless Ni–Cu–P plating process was used for preparing corrosion-resistant and electromagnetic interference shielding wood-based composite. The effects of CuSO₄·5H₂O concentration, pH value in the plating solution and operation temperature on the metal deposition, surface resistivity, chemical composition, corrosion resistance and surface morphology of the composite were investigated. The surface morphologies were observed by using scanning electron microscopy and the chemical compositions were analyzed by X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer. The electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (ESE) was measured by spectrum analyzer. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by potentiodynamic corrosion measurement. The results show that metal deposition increases with pH value and temperature increase; however, it decreases with CuSO₄·5H₂O concentration increase. The corrosion resistance of the plated Ni–Cu–P coatings obviously depends on the total content of Cu and P in the coating. Higher total content of Cu and P leads to higher corrosion resistance. The optimum conditions are as follows: CuSO₄·5H₂O concentration of 1.0 g/L, pH value of 9.5, and operation temperature of 90 °C. The obtained coating contains 77.41 % Ni, 8.96 % Cu, and 13.63 % P. The wood-based composite exhibits higher corrosion resistance and ESE of around 60 dB in frequencies ranging from 9 kHz to 1.5 GHz. In this paper, a promising process for corrosion-resistant and electromagnetic shielding wood-based composites was developed.