Electroless deposition (ED) of copper coating on micron-sized SiC particles

The metallic coating of ceramic particles is a useful technique in order to promote reinforcement bonding with the matrix alloy. The possibility of formation of a uniform electroless deposition (ED) of copper on micron-sized SiC particles was investigated in this study. The effects of ED parameters, SiC particle size and morphology on the coating characteristics, and mechanical bonding (adhesion) at the SiC/copper interface were studied. The results indicated that etching pre-treatment was very effective for improvement of mechanical bonding at the interface. Optimised values of bath temperature and pH were determined as 60 degrees C and 10 respectively. The best results were obtained for SiC particles with a smaller average particle size of 10 mu m in comparison with coarser 80 mu m sized particles. Some dissolution of the copper coating was noted after stir casting the particles into a semi-solid aluminium matrix.