Palladium-free Activation Electroless Nickel Plating on Cenosphere Surface

In order to implement palladium-free activation electroless nickel plating on cenosphere surface,the technique for the cenosphere particles modified by electroless nickel plating activated by the methanol solution dissolving nickel-acetate and sodium-hypophosphite was investigated.The concentrations of nickel-acetate and sodium-hypophosphite were both 400g per liter methanol.Before electroless nickel plating,20g cenosphere particles were soaked into 1 liter activation solution for 20 minutes,heated and reacted for 30 minutes at 165℃.The morphologies and the composition of original and modified cenosphere particles were characterized by environment scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy,respectively.The results indicate that uniform and continuous Ni-P alloy coating is obtained on the cenosphere surfaces by this process.The technique can replace the palladium activation process to reduce not only the cost,but also the environment pollution.