Nickel-catalyzed deposition of Cu film on PET fabric with supercritical fluid

Polyester fabric was catalyzed with Nickel(II) acetylacetonate (Ni(acac)₂) in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) prior to electroless copper plating . The nickel activated polyester fibers were then characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Deposited weight, surface morphology, crystal structure, surface resistance, electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness and thermal loss of the copper plated polyester fabrics catalyzed with nickel in scCO₂ were investigated. The results indicate that the amount of copper deposited onto polyester fabric catalyzed with Ni(acac)₂ in scCO₂ is much more than that without scCO₂. Deposition rate of copper particles onto polyester fabric increases with increased temperatures of scCO₂. The copper particles are uniformly coated on the polyester fibers. The surface resistance of the copper plated fabric is 50 mΩ/sq when the temperature of scCO₂ is increased to 90 °C. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of the copper plated polyester fabric is 60–80 dB at frequencies ranging from 2 to 18 GHz. These results suggest that catalysis in scCO₂ for electroless copper plating provides polyester fabric with excellent electrical conductivity, surface resistance and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness.