Effect of surfactants on performance of electroless plating baths for nickel–ceramic composite membrane fabrication

Abstract

Nickel-ceramic microfiltration membranes were prepared by electroless deposition of nickel on the activated ceramic membrane substrates having a nominal pore size of 275 nm. Two different surfactants, namely sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), were studied for their ability to alter the performance characteristics of plating baths as well as composite membranes. Parameters evaluated include the bath conversion, plating efficiency, metal film thickness, average pore size of the composite membranes and per cent pore densification. The overall plating rate was found to increase up to 32% with the addition of SDS and 45% with the addition of CTAB. Addition of surfactants not only resulted in increased film thickness (4-5 mm) but also accounted for considerable reduction in average pore size of the composite membrane. CTAB was found to be more effective and efficient than SDS for nickel membrane fabrication. List of symbolsA m membrane surface area, m 2 C f concentration of Ni z2 in the solution after plating, mol L 21 C i initial concentration of Ni z2 in the plating solution, mol L 21 d i average pore diameter of the substrate (5275 nm) d o average pore diameter of the nickel-ceramic composite membrane, m PPD per cent pore densification, % w 0 amount of nickel originally available in the plating bath, kg w 1 dry weight of the membrane before plating, kg w 2 dry weight of the membrane after plating, kg x conversion of Ni z2 to Ni in the plating bath d thickness of porous nickel film, m g plating efficiency r Ni density of nickel metal, kg m 23 e q 2 film effective porosity of the nickel-ceramic composite membrane skin layer

Modelling of surfactants and chemistry for electroless Ni-P plating

“…The obtained results indicated that the positive effect of the surfactant on deposit properties was improved with pH of the coating bath. The results suggest that addition of the surfactant caused a greater adsorption of Ni 2+ and consequently higher deposition rates, effects that were also described by Chen et al 32 and Kumor 25 . In addition, Chen et al 32 found that addition of low concentrations of surfactants to the electroless solution caused higher deposition rates (up to 26% greater than the deposition rate from a surfactant-free bath).…”

High temperature tribology of nanocrystalline Ni–P–Ag coating

“…The co-deposition process in electroless composite coatings has been correlated to Langmuir physical adsorption and Temkin chemical adsorption by Balaraju et al 18 Surfactants can also modify the surface electric charge of the particles and subsequently, the homogeneous dispersion of particles without any agglomeration in the coating. 19,20 CTAB as a cationic surfactant could adjust the surface electric charge and uniform distribution of silver particles in the plating bath. Spot EDS analysis of Ni-P matrix showed high phosphorous content in Ni-P based coating (Fig.…”

Preparation of kaolin-based low-cost porous ceramic supports using different amounts of carbonates

“…micellar-enhanced microfiltration of heavy metal ions and treatment of industrial effluents [10][11][12][13][14][15]. In addition, they are used as supports for preparing composite membranes such as polymer/ceramic ultrafiltration membranes and metal/ceramic composite membranes [16][17][18][19].…”