Preparation and characterization of carbon composite plates using Ni-PTFE composite nano-plating

Graphite particles (100 and 40 μm) were coated with Ni (18–38 wt.%) and PTFE fine particles (0.3 μm; 8 wt.%) via electroless Ni-PTFE composite nano-plating. The conductivity of C/Ni-PTFE with 100 μm and 40 μm graphite particles increased concomitantly with the Ni content and reached about 300 S m−1 and 210 S m−1 at 38 wt.% Ni, respectively. The particles were pressed into be plates under a pressure of 10–500 kg cm−2 and the plates were then subjected to heat treatment at 350 °C. The surface of C/Ni-PTFE plates contained infinitely many gaps of 0.01–20 μm; these gaps are useful as a pathway for reacting gases. The current density (43 mA cm−2 at 300 mV) of C/Ni-PTFE electrode with 100 μm graphite particles was about 2.4 times higher than that of C/Ni-PTFE electrode with 40 μm graphite particles, which might be attributed to the improvement of total conductivity.