Electromagnetic shielding and corrosion resistance of electroless Ni‐P and Ni‐P‐Cu coatings on polymer/carbon fiber composites

Abstract

In order to study electrical properties, especially the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding property of ternary Ni‐P‐Cu plated polyether ether ketone/carbon fiber composites (CFs/PEEK) and their dependence on Cu content of the coating, electroless Ni‐P coating was first deposited on CFs/PEEK to obtain the optimum conditions for deposition rate, then a small quantity of CuSO 4 •5H 2 O (0.1∼0.4 g/L) was added in the electroless nickel‐based alloy plating (ENP) bath to investigate the influence of Cu content on the deposition rate and coating characterizations. The EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) was evaluated and corrosion resistance was characterized by electrochemical polarization measurement. It was found that coating phase change from amorphous to a mixture of amorphous and microcrystalline phases with the increase of Cu 2+ concentration. Due to the neat morphology and uniform amorphous structure, the optimum coating Ni‐P‐2.2 wt% Cu obtained at the 0.2 g/L Cu 2+ in the bath owns the best corrosion resistance, EMI SE and the lowest surface resistance. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:923–930, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers