Comparative Study of Electroless Ni-P, Cu, Ag, and Cu-Ag Plating on Polyamide Fabrics

Electroless plating of Ni—P, Cu, Ag, and Cu—Ag on polyamide fabric was performed in the laboratory. The coating depositions were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively. The flame retardancy, abrasion resistance, electromagnetic shielding performance, and tensile and bending properties of the plated fabrics were also investigated. It was found that as compared with the original fabric, the onset decomposition temperature of the Ni—P (weight increasing percentage 120%; Cu (120%), Ag (30%), and Cu—Ag (80%)) plated fabrics decreased and the flame retardancy (80%) did not improve. The abrasion resistance decreased in the order of Ni—P-plated > Cu-plated > Cu—Ag-plated > Ag-plated fabric (80%). The surface resistance decreased with the increase of the number of cycles. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness for the unabrased plated fabric was Cu—Ag-plated = Ag-plated > Cu-plated > Ni—P-plated (30%). The breaking load and the tensile strain for the plated fabric (40%) decreased while the bending rigidity increased.