Electroless Copper Plating On Short CF And Microstructure And Property Of Short CF/C-Cu Composite

In this paper, the fundamental principles and basic techniques about copper coat on the surface of short carbon fiber by electroless plating were discussed. Because the surface of short CF was auto-catalytic, the short CF can be coated with copper successfully without sensitization and activation. First, the effect of temperature, pH value, initial concentration of CH₂O and loading capacity on the time of plating and coat quality were studied. It is found that, under the temperature of reaction, the time of copper plating drops off with the increase of temperature and when PH value rises, the time of reaction also reduces;As the initial CH₂O concentration increasing, the gestation time decreases, but when concentration exceeds 18ml/L, the gestation time prolongs. Second, the coat quality was observed with optical microscope and SEM and the result indicates that when temperature is 70⁷5℃, pH value is about 13, initial concentration of CH₂O is 12ml/l and loading capacity is 0.1g /50ml, this lubricous cladding material was obtained in comparatively short time.And then with powder metallurgy technology, graphite-Cu matrix composite, short CF of electroless copper plating and short CF of electroplating copper reinforced graphite-Cu matrix composite were fabricated. Their electrical conductivity, HV hardness and bending strength under almost the same density were tested. It is found that with the increase of short CF, their HV hardness and bending strength first increase and then reduce, and electrical conductivity hardly changes. With the same CF content, HV hardness and bending strength of short CF of electroless copper plating composite are higher then those of short CF electroplating copper, and electrical conductivity hardly changes, too.Finally, the mechanical and electrical wear were studied. The result shows that weight of electrical wear is much more than that of mechanical wear. With copper-coated short CF below 2 %, when the content of CF rises, the wearability of Cu matrix is improved. In graphite-Cu matrix composite, short CF of electroless copper plating and short CF of electroplating copper reinforced graphite-Cu matrix composite, wear weight and contact drop of graphite-Cu matrix composite are highest, while those of short CF of electroless copper plating are lowest.