Quantitative Image Analysis of Ni-P Coatings Deposited on Carbon Fibers

Abstract

In this work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers coated with different thicknesses of Ni-P coatings were studied. The coatings were deposited by electroless metallization lasting from 3 to 22 min and consisted of approximately 3 wt.% phosphorous. Computer quantitative image analysis was used to characterize the surface features and thickness of the coatings as a function of the time of metallization. The results showed that quantitative image analysis is a useful technique for the measurement of the coating thickness and can be used as a tool for obtaining an innovative description of the Ni-P coating morphology. The morphology of the coatings and their thicknesses were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The image analyses were performed using the proprietary software Micrometer, developed at the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology. The observations revealed that a specific feature of the coating topography is the hemispherical bulge of a diameter ranging from 0.1 to 10 lm. The thickness of the coatings increases linearly with the metallization time. The obtained results indicated that the methodology proposed in the present work can be successfully applied and possesses several advantages over the traditionally used weight measurements technique.

Comparisons of Fastness of the Coating Processes of Electroless Silver Plating on Polyethylene Membrane Surfaces

“…It meant that the amounts of silver element would be spread to cover the PE membrane surfaces, illustrating that more membrane surfaces could be adhered more widely and not to accumulate the drops and lines on the non-invasion surfaces of PE membrane surfaces. The coated silver with those processes could be well proportioned without destroying the initial attachments of silver element [22,23]. That was the reasons that the fastness properties of electroless of silver plating by the processes of the brush were out of the consideration.…”