Electroless Plating
Electroless Plating is a technique of depositing a noble metal from its salt solution on a catalytically
active surface by employing a suitable reducing agent without using electrical energy .
The added reducing agent causes the reduction of the metallic ions to metal which gets plated over the
catalytically activated surface giving a highly uniform but thin coating.
The driving force is autocatalytic redox reaction on pretreated catalytic surface..
The main technical advantage of electroless plating is that it creates an even layer of metal
regardless of the geometry of the surface—in contrast to electroplating, which suffers from
uneven current density due to the effect of substrate shape on the electrical resistance of the
bath. Moreover, electroless plating can be applied to non-conductive surfaces and parts of the
object that cannot be connected to the current source.
In order for the metal to be deposited as a uniform solid coating on the intended
surface, rather than a precipitate through the solution, the reaction must require
a catalyst that is either the substrate itself or is applied to it beforehand. In fact, the
reaction must be autocatalytic, so that it can continue after the substrate has been
coated by the metal.
Preparation of active surface of the object to be plated:
1) Etching: Done through acid treatment in case of metallic surface
2) Electroplating: A thin layer of the metal to be plated or any other suitable metal is plated in
order to improve the catalytic properties of the surface.
3) Removal of organic impurities on surface: This treatment is used for metallic and non-metallic
surfaces and is carried out by using a inert organic solvent.
4) Treatment with Stannous chloride and Palladium chloride: This treatment yields a thin layer of
Pd on the treated surface and increases its catalytic activity. Carried out in case of non-metallic
surface.
Electroless Plating bath composition
1) Soluble salt of metal to be plated ( Electrolyte)
2) Reducing agent like formaldehyde, hypophosphites etc.
3) Complexing agent, which improves the quality of the deposit. E.g. tartarates, citrate,
succinate etc.
4) Exaltant, which enhances the Plating rate. E.g. succinate, fluoride , glycinate etc.
5) Stabilizer, helps to prevent the decomposition of the plating bath solution e.g. thiourea,
cations of Pb, Ca, Th, etc.
6) Buffer, added to control the pH. E.g sodium acetate sodium hydroxide and Rochelle
salt.
Electroless copper Plating:
Pretreatment and activation of the surface: The surface to be coated is first degreased using organic
solvent followed by acid treatment.
a) Metals like Fe, Co, Ni, etc. Can be directly copper plated without pretreatment.
b) Non-metallic materials like glass, plastics should be activated by first dipping in stannous
chloride solution containing HCl, followed by dipping in Palladium Chloride solution. Upon
drying, the surface is found to have a thin layer of Pd.
Composition of bath:
a) Coating solution: Copper Sulphate (12g/l)
b) Reducing agent: Formaldehyde ( 8g/l)
c) Buffer: NaOH (15 g/l) + Rochelle salt (14 g/l)
d) Complexing agent cum Exaltant: EDTA ( 20 g/l)
Bath conditions: pH : 11.0
Temperature: 25°C
Reactions:
Procedure:
Coating of a metallic surface: The surface is first decreases using organic solvent followed by acid
treatment. The article is then immersed in the electroless Plating bath solution stated above.
Coating of a non-metallic surface: ( Preparation of PCB)
The process is known as subtractive method. The surface is first degreased using organic solvent. The
base is usually plastic material which is treated with stannous chloride and Palladium chloride , which
leaves a thin layer of Pd. It is then dipped in the electroless Plating bath solution and a thin layer ( 5 to
100 μm) of copper is plated. Then , selected areas are protected by employing electroplated
image and the remainder of the plated copper is etched away so as to get the required type of
circuit pattern. The connection between the two sides of PCB is made by drilling holes, followed
by electroless copper Plating.
