Sustainable direct metallization of 3D-printed metal-infused polymer parts: a novel green approach to direct copper electroless plating

doi:10.1007/s40436-024-00486-0

Abstract

Abstract: Metallization, which is coating metals on the surface of objects, has opened up new possibilities for lightweight structures while integrating polymer and metal features. Electroless plating is a potential method for metalizing plastic 3D-printed parts; however, conventional approaches rely on pre-surface activation and catalyzation with expensive metal catalysts and hazardous acids. To address these issues, the current study represents a novel eco-friendly and low-cost approach for direct metallization of non-conductive 3D-printed parts, without using hazardous, toxic, and expensive conventional pre-treatments. Using the developed methodology, we electrolessly copper plated polymer-copper infused 3D-printed part as well as plastic components for the first time, directly. We initiated and implemented the idea of exposing the copper particles embedded in the polymer to the surface of copper-polymer parts by applying a sustainable mechanical or chemical method to make the surface conductive and ready for direct plating. A formaldehyde-free (green) electroless copper solution was developed in-house in addition to skipping conventional etching pre-treatment using harmful chemicals, making this a real step forward in the sustainable metallization of 3D-printed parts. In this study, the mechanical properties of copper-polylactic acid (PLA) 3D-printed parts revealed a 65% reduction in tensile strength and 63% increase in tensile modulus, compared to virgin PLA. Furthermore, the morphological characterization of the copper coated 3D-printed parts showed a homogeneous copper coating on the surface after direct electroless plating, with a plating rate of 7.5 μm/h. Allowing complex and functional devices printed in this manner to be quickly metalized without modification using toxic and costly solutions is a significant advancement in lowering the cost and manufacturing complexity of 3D-printed parts, increasing efficiencies, and lowering weight, and thus is a game changer in the technology’s adoption.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-024-00486-0

Key words: Material extrusion, Additive manufacturing (AM), Copper-polymer filaments, Electroless plating, Sustainability, Metallization

Javid Sharifi, Vlad Paserin, Haniyeh (Ramona) Fayazfar. Sustainable direct metallization of 3D-printed metal-infused polymer parts: a novel green approach to direct copper electroless plating[J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2024, 12(4): 784-797.

TrendMD

References

[1] Fayazfar H, Sharifi J, Keshavarz MK et al (2023) An overview of surface roughness enhancement of additively manufactured metal parts: a path towards removing the post-print bottleneck for complex geometries. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 125:1061-1113
[2] Zhan J, Tamura T, Li X et al (2020) Metal-plastic hybrid 3D printing using catalyst-loaded filament and electroless plating. Addit Manuf 36:101556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2020.101556
[3] Lazarus N, Tyler JB, Cardenas JA et al (2022) Direct electroless plating of conductive thermoplastics for selective metallization of 3D printed parts. Addit Manuf 55:102793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2022.102793
[4] Gao X, Qi S, Kuang X et al (2021) Fused filament fabrication of polymer materials: a review of interlayer bond. Addit Manuf 37:101658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2020.101658
[5] Patel R, Jani S, Joshi A (2022) Review on multi-objective optimization of FDM process parameters for composite materials. Int J Interact Des Manuf 17(5):2115-2125
[6] Stansbury JW, Idacavage MJ (2016) 3D printing with polymers: challenges among expanding options and opportunities. Dent Mater 32:54-64
[7] Vaes D, Van Puyvelde P (2021) Semi-crystalline feedstock for filament-based 3D printing of polymers. Prog Polym Sci 118:101411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2021.101411
[8] Bhagia S, Bornani K, Agarwal R et al (2021) Critical review of FDM 3D printing of PLA biocomposites filled with biomass resources, characterization, biodegradability, upcycling and opportunities for biorefineries. Appl Mater Today 24:101078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmt.2021.101078
[9] Arrigo R, Frache A (2022) FDM printability of PLA based-materials: the key role of the rheological behavior. Polymers 14:1754. https://doi.org/10.3390/POLYM14091754/S1
[10] Akhouri D, Banerjee D, Mishra SB (2019) A review report on the plating process of fused deposition modelling (FDM) built parts. Mater Today Proc 26:2140-2142
[11] Ryan KR, Down MP, Hurst NJ et al (2022) Additive manufacturing (3D printing) of electrically conductive polymers and polymer nanocomposites and their applications. eScience 2:365-381
[12] White J, Tenore C, Pavich A et al (2018) Environmentally benign metallization of material extrusion technology 3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene parts using physical vapor deposition. Addit Manuf 22:279-285
[13] Su X, Li X, Ong CYA et al (2019) Metallization of 3D printed polymers and their application as a fully functional water-splitting system. Adv Sci 6:1801670. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201801670
[14] Melentiev R, Yu N, Lubineau G (2021) Polymer metallization via cold spray additive manufacturing: a review of process control, coating qualities, and prospective applications. Addit Manuf 48:102459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102459
[15] Zhang H, Kang Z, Sang J et al (2018) Surface metallization of ABS plastics for nickel plating by molecules grafted method. Surf Coat Technol 340:8-16
[16] Melentiev R, Yudhanto A, Tao R et al (2022) Metallization of polymers and composites: state-of-the-art approaches. Mater Des 221:110958. https://doi.org/10.1080/09506608.2021.1954805
[17] Popescu C, Alain S, Courant M et al (2022) Thermal spray copper-based coatings against contamination of thermoplastic surfaces: a systematic review. Eng Sci Technol Int J 35:101194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jestch.2022.101194
[18] Mavukkandy MO, McBride SA, Warsinger DM et al (2020) Thin film deposition techniques for polymeric membranes—a review. J Memb Sci 610:118258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118258
[19] Toroslu AG, Tekiner Z, Mert F (2022) Characterization of physical vapor deposited coating on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and polycarbonate substrates. Materwiss Werksttech 53:867-875
[20] Eßbach C, Fischer D, Nickel D (2021) Challenges in electroplating of additive manufactured ABS plastics. J Manuf Process 68:1378-1386
[21] Ghosh S (2019) Electroless copper deposition: a critical review. Thin Solid Films 669:641-658
[22] Boipai B, Banerjee T (2022) Improvement in adhesion of electroless coating on plastic substrates: a review. In: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, pp 179-190
[23] Deckert CA (1995) Electroless copper plating. a review: part I. Plat Surf Finish 82:58-64
[24] Wang GX, Li N, Hu YL et al (2006) Process of direct copper plating on ABS plastics. Appl Surf Sci 253:480-484
[25] McCaskie JE (2006) Plating on plastics: a survey of mechanisms for adhering metal films to plastic surfaces. Met Finish 104:31-39
[26] Imam KD, Nanda KNV, Hussain RC (1989) Environmental contamination of chromium in agricultural and animal products near a chromate industry. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 43:742-746
[27] Root W, Aguiló-Aguayo N, Pham T et al (2018) Conductive layers through electroless deposition of copper on woven cellulose lyocell fabrics. Surf Coat Technol 348:13-21
[28] Melentiev R, Tao R, Lubineau G (2023) Greener electrochemical plating of ABS polymer with unprecedented adhesion via hierarchical micro-nanotexturing. J Mater Res Technol 24:3575-3587
[29] Bernasconi R, Natale G, Levi M et al (2016) Electroless plating of NiP and Cu on polylactic acid and polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified for 3D printed flexible substrates. J Electrochem Soc 163:D526-D531
[30] Eres Z, Bosiljevac M, Sipus Z (2019) Realization of gap-waveguide leaky wave antenna using low-cost metallization procedure. In: International conference on applied electromagnetics and communications, Singapore
[31] Monzon MD, Diaz N, Benitez AN et al (2010) Advantages of fused deposition modeling for making electrically conductive plastic patterns. In: International conference on manufacturing automation. IEEE, pp 37-43
[32] Jones CG, Mills BE, Nishimoto RK et al (2017) Electroless deposition of palladium on macroscopic 3D-printed polymers with dense microlattice architectures for development of multifunctional composite materials. J Electrochem Soc 164:D867-D874
[33] Li J, Wang Y, Xiang G et al (2019) Hybrid additive manufacturing method for selective plating of freeform circuitry on 3D printed plastic structure. Adv Mater Technol 4:1800529. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.201800529
[34] Ryspayeva A, Jones TDA, Khan SR et al (2019) Selective metallization of 3D printable thermoplastic polyurethanes. IEEE Access 7:104947-104955
[35] Wild A (2014) Integration of functional circuits into FDM parts. Adv Mater Res 1038:29-33
[36] ASTM International (2015) ASTM D638-14, standard test method for tensile properties of plastics
[37] ASTM International (2017) D3359-17 standard test methods for rating adhesion by tape test
[38] Jubinville D, Sharifi J, Mekonnen TH et al (2023) A comparative study of the physico-mechanical properties of material extrusion 3D-printed and injection molded wood-polymeric biocomposites. J Polym Environ 1-13
[39] Cai Q, Meille S, Chevalier J et al (2023) 3D-printing of ceramic filaments with ductile metallic cores. Mater Des 225:111463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2022.111463
[40] Vakharia VS, Kuentz L, Salem A et al (2021) Additive manufacturing and characterization of metal particulate reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) polymer composites. Polymers 13:3545. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13203545
[41] Sadeghian H, Ayatollahi MR, Yahya MY (2023) Effects of copper additives on load carrying capacity and micro mechanisms of fracture in 3D-printed PLA specimens. Theor Appl Fract Mech. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tafmec.2023.104027
[42] Vidakis N, Petousis M, Velidakis E et al (2022) Investigation of the biocidal performance of multi-functional resin/copper nanocomposites with superior mechanical response in SLA 3D printing. Biomimetics 7(1):8. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7010008
[43] Wu W, Xie D, Huang J et al (2022) Adhesion enhancement for nickel layer deposited on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites by pretreatment processes for lightning strike. J Adhes 99(7):1099-1122
[44] Equbal A, Sood AK (2015) Investigations on metallization in FDM build ABS part using electroless deposition method. J Manuf Process 19:22-31