A study of optimizing processes for metallized textile design application

The purpose of this research is to find an optimum electroless plating process in order to obtain relatively low surface resistance, and improve functional properties and appearance of nickel-plated and copper-plated polyester fabrics.;The optimum results indicate that the NiSO4 concentration and temperature of the bath in the plating process are most important factors influencing surface resistance of electroless nickel-plated polyester fabric. However, NiSO4 concentration and pH of the plating bath are most significant factors affecting electroless copper plating.;The micro-structures and properties of nickel and copper, and nickel/copper multi-layer plated polyester fabrics have been studied. In the case of electroless nickel plating, the nickel deposit layer becomes more uniform and continuous when prepared at higher NiSO4 concentration and higher bath temperature. As for the electroless copper plating, the surface morphology of the copper deposits indicates that the average diameter of the particles is increased with the rise of NiSO4 concentration and pH. The surface morphology of nickel/copper multi-layer deposits reveals the presence of ultra-fine nodules and the deposits are compact and uniform in size.;There is an increase in EMI SE with respect to the rise of Ni 2+ concentration and bath temperature for electroless nickel plating; and EMI SE increases with the rise of Ni2+ concentration and pH of the plating solution for electroless copper plating on polyester fabric. With the same deposit weight, the EMI SE of nickel/copper-plated fabric is greatly higher than that of the nickel-plated fabric, but slightly lower than that of the copper-plated fabric. However, the anti-corrosive property of nickel/copper-plated fabrics is significantly superior to the copper-plated fabrics, but slightly inferior to the nickel-plated fabric.;Design application effects have been explored by the controlling plating conditions. The electroless plating parameters play an important role in the metallized fabric appearance based on their influences on color and texture. This study has developed optimization productions of electroless plating of nickel, copper and nickel/copper multi-layer on polyester fabric in terms of the functional and aesthetic effects.