Fabrication of conductive copper-coated glass fibers through electroless plating process

A simple electroless copper plating process was employed to prepare copper-coated glass fibers with excellent conductivity. The glass fibers were pretreated by etching, sensitizing, and activating procedures. Disodium ethylenediamine tetra acetate (EDTA-2Na) and hydrazine hydrate (N2H4 center dot H2O) were employed as complex reagent and reductant, respectively. It was found that the copper deposition was greatly influenced by dosage of EDTA-2Na, concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), temperature, and volume of N2H4 center dot H2O. The optimal temperature for electroless copper plating ranged from 40 to 60 A degrees C. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. The result showed that the minimum volume resistivity of 0.0010 Omega cm was obtained for the sample with perfect copper coatings on the surface of glass fibers. This method is simple, low-cost, and large production, and can be extended to fabricate other metal-coated glass fibers with distinct conductivity.