Unsupported palladium alloy foil membranes fabricated by electroless plating

It is desirable to create thin (<25 μm), unsupported, defect-free palladium and palladium alloy foils in a cost-effective manner in order to study intrinsic material properties exclusive of support effects. We have developed a novel technique for producing unsupported palladium films by electroless plating upon mirror-finished stainless steel supports followed by mechanical removal. High quality pure palladium films as thin as 7.2 μm were produced. Single gas steady state permeation experiments were performed using hydrogen and nitrogen to examine permeability and selectivity. The pure palladium membranes showed hydrogen permeabilities comparable to cold-rolled unsupported foils, and high H₂/N₂ selectivity. Palladium-copper membranes were prepared by sequential electroless plating of copper onto palladium foils followed by in situ annealing. The annealing process produces films of desired composition with permeabilities comparable to those in the literature. The annealing process does not appear to produce defects in the film, and the membranes thus produced have performed 15 days without increased leak rates.     

Preparation and thermal treatment of Pd/Ag composite membrane on a porous alumina tube by sequential electroless plating technique for H2 separation

Pd/Ag/α-Al2O3 composite membranes were prepared by sequential electroless plating technique. The prepared membranes were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy techniques （ICP-AES）. Effects of annealing time, Ag content, and air treatment on the hydrogen permeation flux and morphology of the alloys were investigated. The results of the investigation showed that the prepared type of tube had a good potential as substrate for membrane preparation. In addition, a uniform defect-free alloy was prepared by annealing at 550 ℃ in H2 atmosphere. The permeation results showed an increase in H2 permeation flux by increasing the Ag content and the annealing time. In addition, the air treatment of the prepared membranes at 400 ℃ for 1 h changed the morphology of the alloy and substantially enhanced the hydrogen flux.     

Reflective and conductive surface‐silvered polyimide films prepared by surface graft copolymerization and electroless plating

Argon plasma‐pretreated polyimide (PI) films were subjected to UV‐induced surface graft copolymerization with 4‐vinylpyridine(4VP) under atmospheric conditions. Electroless plating of silver was carried out effectively on the 4VP graft copolymerized PI (PI‐g‐P4VP) surface after PdCl₂ activation and in the absence of SnCl₂ sensitization (the Sn‐free process). The surface compositions of the modified PI films were studied by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XPS results showed that the PI‐g‐P4VP surface is ready for electroless deposition of silver via the Sn‐free process. The grafted 4VP layer with well‐preserved pyridine groups was used not only as the chemisorption sites for the palladium complexes (without the need for prior sensitization by SnCl₂) during the electroless plating of silver, but also as an adhesion promotion layer for the electrolessly deposited silver. The silver metallized PI films show high reflectivity and conductivity with a surface resistance of 1.5 Ω and a reflectivity of 91.3%, respectively. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polar anchoring strengths of nematic liquid crystal on high-density polymer brush surfaces

ABSTRACT

Herein, the polar anchoring energy coefficient (A_θ) of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) was examined for high-density polymer brushes via capacitance measurements. The A_θ is 10^?4 J m^?2 for the brushes of poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(ethyl methacrylate) and poly(styrene). The value decreases to 10^?5 J m^?2 for poly(n-butyl methacrylate) and poly(hexyl methacrylate) with lower glass transition temperatures. However, each polymer brush displays a constant A_θ value over a temperature range of ?15°C to 90°C, which is hardly affected by the graft density and brush thickness. At 25°C, A_θ is 10 times greater than the corresponding azimuthal anchoring energy coefficient (A_φ); therefore, NLCs on polymer brushes can be preferentially aligned along the in-plane component of the applied field.     

The effect of carbon nanotubes on the corrosion and tribological behavior of electroless Ni-P-CNT composite coating

In this study, Ni-P-CNT composite coating was successfully deposited on the surface of copper by electroless plating. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the coatings. The wear behavior of the coatings was investigated using a pin-on-disk test rig and subsequently friction coefficient data were reported. The corrosion behavior of the Ni-P and Ni-P-CNT coated specimen were evaluated through polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution at the room temperature. The results indicated that the incorporation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the coating improved both tribological behavior and corrosion resistance. These improvements have been attributed to superior mechanical properties, unique topological structure and high chemical stability of nanotubes.     

Microstructure and electromagnetic characteristics of BaTiO3/Ni hybrid particles prepared by electroless plating

To improve the microwave absorption ability, hybrid particles containing both dielectric loss of BaTiO₃ and magnetic loss of Ni were fabricated via electroless Ni plating on BaTiO₃ particles. A continuous Ni coating was successfully covered on the surface of the BaTiO₃. The effect of the Ni content on complex permittivity, complex permeability, and microwave absorption properties of BaTiO₃/Ni hybrid particles was investigated. The real (?′) and imaginary (?″) parts of complex permittivity as well as imaginary part of complex permeability (μ″) were found to increase with an increase in Ni content, while the variation of the real part of complex permeability (μ′) with Ni content was non-linear. The microwave absorption performances could readily be tuned base on the changing Ni content of the hybrid particles. The optimal absorption performances were attained when the content of Ni reached 38.9 wt% in hybrid particles.     

多弧镀及磁过滤阴极弧沉积TiN薄膜的摩擦学性能对比

分别采用多弧离子镀(MAIP)和带有平面"S"形过滤管的磁过滤阴极弧设备(FCAP)在不锈钢基底上制备了2种TiN薄膜;采用往复式球-盘摩擦磨损试验机评价了2种薄膜的摩擦学性能;采用扫描电子显微镜观察和分析了薄膜磨斑表面形貌及其元素面分布.结果表明:采用FCAP技术制备的薄膜表面光滑、缺陷少、普遍具有明显的(111)面择优取向;而采用MAIP技术制备的薄膜表面存在较多大小不一的颗粒和孔洞,且无明显取向.在较低载荷下,采用FCAP薄膜表现出较好的抗磨性能,其磨斑表面存在沉积的TiN磨屑;而采用MAIP制备的薄膜磨斑表面无转移沉积磨屑,摩擦系数较高.     

泡沫镍制备中化学镀镍研究

 探讨了泡沫镍制备过程中,聚氨酯泡沫模板上的低温化学镀镍工艺,考察了镀液温度、pH值、主盐与还原剂浓度对沉积速率的影响。得出了适宜的工艺条件：硫酸镍30 g/L、次亚磷酸钠30 g/L、柠檬酸钠10 g/L、氯化铵30 g/L,镀液pH=9.0～9.5、温度45 ℃。在该工艺条件下,化学镀过程稳定,沉积速率可达40 mg/(cm³×h)。化学镀镍后经电镀、热解和还原退火处理制得泡沫镍,其样品呈3维网络状结构,密度为0.74 g/cm³,孔隙率为91.7%。     

Electroless Nickel Plating and Electroplating on FBG Temperature Sensor

Metal-coated fiber Bragg grating（FBG）temperature sensors were prepared via electroless nickel（EN）plating and tin electroplating methods on the surface of normal bare FBG.The surface morphologies of the metal-coated layers were observed under a metallographic microscope.The effects of pretreatment sequence,pH value of EN plating solution and current density of electroplating on the performance of the metal-coated layers were analyzed.Meanwhile, the Bragg wavelength shift induced by temperature was monitored by an optical spectrum analyzer.Sensitivity of the metal-coated FBG（MFBG）sensor was almost two times that of normal bare FBG sensor.The measuring temperature of the MFBG sensor could be up to 280℃,which was much better than that of conventional FBG sensor.     

预镀铋膜修饰铂电极差分脉冲溶出伏安法测定痕量铅、镉

采用预镀铋膜法修饰铂电极,用该电极对痕量Pd、Cd同时进行了差分脉冲溶出伏安法测定,Pd、Cd在富集中和铋形成类似于汞齐的合金,溶出峰良好。讨论了在不同沉积液和沉积时间下得到的铋膜电极的性能和富集时间、富集电位及底液pH对金属离子测定的影响。在优化的实验条件下,分别对10~100μg/L、20~200μg/L和50~500μg/L3个不同浓度系列的Pb2 、Cd2 进行了同时测定,Pb、Cd溶出峰电流与Pb2 、Cd2 浓度呈良好的线性关系(r≥0.999),Pb2 、Cd2 浓度的线性范围均为10~500μg/L;富集时间为180 s时,Pb2 、Cd2 的检出限分别为0.38μg/L和0.82μg/L。利用本方法测定了蔬菜中Pb的含量,并与原子荧光分析法做了对比,结果令人满意。