Activating bath for metal or non-conductive surfaces prior to chemical

摘要

Surfaces of non-catalytic metal, such as Ni, CO, Cu, steel, Fe, Zn, Sn, Cd, Mg, Al, Cr or Ti or alloys, or electrically non-conductive materials and plastics are activated for subsequent chemical plating by immersion, pref. for 10 secs. to 10 min. at 10-70 degrees C, in bath containing an aqs. solution of (I) a salt of a catalytic metal and (II) an oxidising agent, where proportion (II): (I), expressed in relative normalities regarding oxidation-reduction, is 0.01 to 10 (pref. 0.2-1.8). Pref. bath contains 5 mg to 10 g (II) per 1. solution, and (II) may be an inorganic acid, organic per-acid or salt. Pref. (I) is a salt of Pt, Au, Cu, Ag, Ni or Co, or pref. a Pd salt. Pref. bath contains a buffer to adjust pH 1-6, pref. 5-250 g/l of a citrate-citric-, acetate-acetic-,borate-boric- or phosphate-phosphoric acid system.