Electroless plating of PVC plastic through new surface modification method applying a semi-IPN hydrogel film

A novel palladium-free surface activation process for electroless nickel plating was developed. This method applied a semi-Interpenetrating Polymer Network (semi-IPN) hydrogel film to modify the poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) surface by chemical bonds. The activation process involved the formation of semi-IPN hydrogel film on the PVC surface and the immobilization of catalyst for electroless plating linking to the pretreated substrate via Nsingle bondNi chemical bond. The hydrogel layer was used as the chemisorption sites for nickel ions, and the catalyst could initiate the subsequent electroless nickel plating onto the PVC surface. Finally, a Ni–P layer was deposited on the nickel-activated PVC substrate by electroless plating technique. The composition and morphology of nickel-plated PVC foils were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results of SEM and XRD show that a compact and continuous Ni–P layer with amorphous nickel phase is formed on the PVC surface. EDS shows that the content of the nickel and the phosphorus in the deposits is 89.4 wt.% and 10.6 wt.%, respectively.