Electroless Ni–P coating preparation of conductive mica powder by a modified activation process

A modified activation process was developed for electroless Ni–P coating preparation of conductive mica powder. The electroless Ni–P coating process was modified by replacing the conventional sensitization and activation steps only using activation step with a Pd(II)–APTHS activator, which is a complex of Pd(II) ion with a derivate g-aminopropyltrihydroxysilane (APTHS) from the hydrolysis of g-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The activated reaction progress and resulted Ni–P coating were characterized by XPS, SEM/EDX and TEM. Electroless nickel deposition was successfully initiated by this activation process. This activation process is very simple, and the obtained Ni–P deposits have the advantages of uniformity, continuity and densification. The average specific resistivity for the Ni–P coated mica powder was 4.85 10 2 V cm.