Electroless Nickel Metallization on Palladium-free Activated Polyamide Fabric for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

In this work, a novel palladium-free and environmentally friendly surface activation process was applied to prepare nickel plated fabric. Firstly, chitosan (CTS) film was formed on the polyamide (PA) surfaces. Then, the electroless nickel plating was carried out on the surface of textile in the absence of Sn through the electroless plating technique. The morphology of nickel-plated PA fabrics was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD). The plated nickel fabric exhibited saturation magnetization with coating mass of 331.4 emu/g and good electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (50 dB) in frequency range from 300 KHz to 3000 MHz). This approach reveals a promising potential to fabricate electromagnetic shielding materials, in which nickel salt is as activator instead of metallic palladium to realize the palladium-free activation.

Automated summary

A novel palladium-free and environmentally friendly surface activation process was applied to prepare nickel plated fabric, demonstrating promising potential for electromagnetic shielding materials. By using nickel salt as an activator instead of metallic palladium, this approach achieves palladium-free activation and exhibits good electromagnetic shielding effectiveness.