Preparation of highly reflective silver metallized PVC film by autocatalytic deposition

Abstract

Metallized polymer films, used in many optical applications because of their high reflectivity, are usually prepared under complex conditions. In this work, a two-step autocatalytic deposition method was adopted to prepare an Agdeposited polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film (Ag/PVC composite film) with high reflectivity. When Ag particles were used as a coating, the formed facecentered cubic crystal endowed a higher reflectivity than other crystals. Therefore, Pd metal was introduced as the catalytic center for Ag deposition to promote the formation of face-centered cubic crystals, thereby obtaining a highly reflective PVC film. Moreover, we improved the reflectivity of the Ag/PVC composite film by adjusting different process parameters, and the maximum reflectivity of the Ag/PVC composite film could reach as high as 93%. The twostep autocatalytic deposition we used was a simple, efficient, and low-energy method to prepare highly reflective films. The optimum process parameter was also significant for further research on highly reflective films.

Dual-Emitter Graphene Glass Fiber Fabric for Radiant Heating

“…All these waves add up to give specular reflection. Because of the existence of numerous free electrons, metal wires have a remarkably high reflectivity, leading to a low absorptivity. − In contrast, GGFF shows lower reflectivity and thus higher absorptivity. According to Kirchhoff’s law, which illustrates the relationship between the absorptivity and emissivity, GGFF would have a much higher emissivity than metal wires.…”