Functionalization of polyamide 6 nanofibers by electroless deposition of copper

Abstract

Polyamide 6 (PA6) nanofibers were prepared via electrospinning. The electrospun PA6 nanofibers were functionalized using electroless deposition technique. Oxygen low temperature plasma treatment was applied to substitute the conventional roughening process using concentrated sulfuric acid-potassium dichromate. The deposition of copper (Cu) on the PA6 nanofibers was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The observations revealed the uniform coating of the PA6 nanofibers with thin films of Cu. It was also found that the surface conductivity of the PA6 nanofibers was significantly improved by the Cu deposition. The combination of electrospinning and electroless deposition will provide a new approach to producing the functional nanofibers for various applications.

Processing of composite functional nanofibers

“…For example, the Ag nanoparticles dispersed in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofi bers spun by electrospinning are prepared in situ by the reduction of silver ions in N 2 H 5 OH aqueous solution. 37 The electrospun Polyamide 6 (PA6)/Cu composite nanofi bers 49 are prepared using an electroless deposition technique. …”

“…28 In addition, alternative production methods including sol-gel, sputter coating and electroless deposition are also frequently used. Among various polymer/inorganic composite nanofi bers, the most frequently used nanoparticles included montmorillonite, 1, 29-36 silver (Ag), [37][38] titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ), 39-41 silica (SiO 2 ), 42-44 magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ), 45 silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), 46 layered double hydroxides (LDHs), 47 zinc oxide (ZnO), 48 copper (Cu), 49 β-tricalciumphosphate (β-TCP) 50 and multiwalled carbon nanotubes. 51 …”

“…,49,[57][58][59] Various amounts of inorganic salts are initially added to the polymer electrospinning solutions. The composite solution is mixed by mechanical stirring, before being electrospun to form polymer/inorganic salts composite nanofi bers.…”

Effect of FeCl3 on the morphology, wetting behavior, and stabilization/carbonization of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers prepared by electrospinning

“…Recently, the incorporation of inorganic compounds into electrospun nanofibers has been extensively studied; this is because the aselectrospun nanofibers can be readily converted into polymer/metal or polymer/semiconductor composite nanofibers through subsequent chemical treatments [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. The inorganic compounds of ferric acetylacetonate (Fe(acac) 2 ) [6], AgNO 3 [7], and ZnCl 2 [8] have been investigated.…”

Fabrication of silver plated nylon 6 nanofibers using iodine

“…Accordingly, surface modification using polymer grafting techniques has been carried out on polymer surfaces, including on nanofibers. This is a good method to make nanofiber surfaces suitable for electroless plating, however, expensive equipment such as plasma, electron and light sources are typically required [26][27][28][29]. Abstract: Silver (Ag) metal-plated nanofibers were prepared from nylon 6/silver iodide (AgI) composite nanofibers.…”