Chemical copper plating is also named electroless copper plating whic is a process in circuit board manufacturing.
Author: Marisa
Chemical copper plating is a process in the manufacture of circuit boards, usually called copper plating or hole-treating (PTH). It is a self-catalytic redox reaction. First, it is treated with an activator to adsorb a layer of active particles on the surface of the insulating substrate. Usually, metal palladium particles are used (palladium is a very expensive metal, the price is high and has been rising. In order to reduce costs, practical colloidal copper processes are now in operation abroad). Copper ions are first reduced on these active metal palladium particles, and these reduced metal copper crystal nuclei themselves become the catalyst layer of copper ions, so that the reduction reaction of copper continues on the surface of these new copper crystal nuclei.
During the chemical copper plating process, the Cu2+ ions gain electrons and are reduced to metallic copper, while the reducing agent releases electrons and is oxidized. The reaction is essentially the same as the electrolytic process, except that the process of gaining and losing electrons is carried out under a short-circuit state, and the flow of current cannot be seen from the outside. Therefore, chemical plating is a very energy-saving and efficient electrolytic process, because it does not have an external power supply and there is no resistance voltage drop during electrolysis. A simple example can prove that during chemical copper plating, the printed circuit board can be arranged at a distance of 5-10mm and immersed in the chemical copper plating solution for copper plating at one time, which cannot be done by electroplating. Chemical copper plating can be deposited on any non-conductive substrate, and this feature has been widely used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. The most common application is hole metallization to complete the interconnection of wires between layers of double-sided or multi-layer printed circuit boards. In addition, printed circuit boards are manufactured by the addition method of once thick copper deposition.
Chemical copper plating is widely used in various industries, such as: electronic appliances, hardware crafts, handicrafts, furniture decoration, etc. For example: copper plating on stainless steel surface, copper plating on circuit boards, copper plating on aluminum, copper plating on iron parts, copper plating on copper, copper plating on resin, copper plating on glass, copper plating on plastic, copper plating on diamonds, copper plating on leaves, etc.
Chemical copper plating is simple to operate, and can be operated on large assembly lines and small factories without equipment. No electricity is required. It is also environmentally friendly and cyanide-free.
Chemical copper plating has high stability and a wide range of applicable working temperatures and solution concentrations. The copper layer is dense and has excellent bonding strength. These are the advantages of chemical copper plating.
It is basically suitable for copper plating on all metal and non-metal surfaces.