ACTIVE FILLER PARTICLES IN INKS

摘要

Autocatalytic plating is a form of electrode-less plating in which a metal, for example, cobalt, nickel, gold, silver or copper, is deposited onto a substrate via a chemical reduction process. Coatings derived from this process are usually more uniform and adherent than from other processes and can be applied to unusually shaped surfaces. Non-metallic surfaces can only usually be coated via this process following suitable sensitisation of the substrate. This invention therefore provides a method of preparing a substrate material for subsequent autocatalytic deposition of a metal coating reducing the need for surface preparation by using a reducible silver salt with a suitable filler in a printable ink formulation. Autocatalytic deposition may be used to coat whole surfaces or pre-determined patterns may be deposited by known printing methods.