Development of electroless silver plating on Para‐aramid fibers and growth morphology of silver deposits

The development of a conductive fiber with flame resistance is an urgent concern particularly in national defense and other specialized fields. Aramid fibers (para- or meta-) exihibit high strength and excellent fire resistance. Electroless silver plating on para-aramid fibers and growth morphology of silver deposits was investigated in the present work. The surface of para-aramid fibers was roughened using sodium hydride/dimethyl sulfoxide to guarantee successful electroless plating. Two complexing agents (ethylene diamine/ammonia) and two reducing agents (glucose/seignette salt) were used for the electroless silver plating bath design. Structure and properties of the resulting silver-deposited para-aramid fibers were evaluated based on scanning electron microscopy, silver weight gain percentage calculation, electrical resistance measurement, crystal structure analysis, and mechanical properties test. The results showed that a higher silver weight gain was advantageous to the improvement of conductivity for the silver-deposited para-aramid fibers. The obtained silver deposit was homogenous and compact. Electroless silver-plating deposits were considered to be three-dimensional nucleation and growth model (Volmer–Weber). Black, silver gray, and white deposits appeared sequentially with progressive plating. The breaking strength of silver-deposited para-aramid fibers remained at value up to 44 N. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012