I want to coat my millimeter sized sample with electroless coating process. First of all I need to sensitize the surface with SnCl2 then activate it with PdCl2. I implemented all of the steps which are needed and mentioned in papers but couldn't get desired Ni coating on sample. I think problem is related with concentration of solutions. Can anyone help me about the situation?
You are partly right, in addition you have to check the compatibility of your material, the solution pH, types and concentrations of your essential plating reagents & lastly the operating temperature
Yes. The electroless plating is a versatile technique. Some parameters can play an important role, especially, the composition and the concentration of your baths and the temperature/time. The surface state of the substrate can also play a role.
1.You may need to get through more literature & consider previous works on the subject. Find reports with close chemical composition with your substrate. A little experimental variation in the concentration of the reagents and the parameters.
2. Determine the composition of the deposits to feature out what might have been the reaction at substrate- solution interface.
Without knowing the kind of samples you are trying to plate (in terms of chemistry mainly), it is difficult to answer: the electroless process is as much about the substrate that it is about the plating bath.
It is possible that your material is a poison for the electroless plating bath or contains some element that is. It is also possible that your substrate is not compatible with the pH of the bath (it can dissolve or passivate, which empedes plating). It is also possible that your activation process did not work (you can check it with local surface analysis).
There's an old trick to initiate the deposition process that you can try if your substrate is metallic: touch it inside the plating bath with a piece of a less noble metal.
Prior to sensitization, you need to perform surface cleaning and etching process. Without these two processes, you will not get any coating at all. The selections of reducing agent, a complexant, an inhibitor, an exaltant and/or a stabilizer are also crucial. If you don't want the trouble of dealing with these chemicals, just purchase the commercial electroless solutions.
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