Electroless deposition of pure copper film on carbon fabric substrate using hydrazine as reducing agent

We report on a simple but efficient strategy for the fabrication of conductive copper/carbon fabric composites by electroless plating method. The carbon fabric was firstly treated by cleaning, etching, sensitization, and activation processes. Hydrazine hydrate served as a powerful reducing agent, and all deposition procedure was conducted in alkaline media. It was found that the dosage of sodium hydroxide and reaction time played important roles for the formation of copper coatings with high quality. The composite with continuous and compact copper film on the surface of carbon fabric possessed a minimum volume resistivity of 4.13 x 10(-3) Omega cm, and such material would be expected to be used in electromagnetic interference shielding, wave absorbing, and electric sensors.