Electroplating of Copper on the Continuous Carbon Fibers

Abstract

Surface metallization of continuous carbon fibers (CFs) can improve the properties of the interface between the CFs and the metal matrix of the metal based composites. In this study, copper was coated on the surface of continuous CFs by electroplating in acidified copper sulfate electrolyte system. The effects of electroplating parameters such as current density, plating time, plating temperature and the pH value of electrolyte solution on the electroplating of the copper thin films on CFs were studied. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to determine the microstructure of the copper coatings, and its composition and crystal structure. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study the thermal stability of the CFs after electroplating. The results showed that high quality copper-coated CFs can be obtained under the optimized plating parameters as follows: the current density 3~4mA/cm2, electroplating time 10~20min, the temperature and the pH value of electrolyte solution 3.0~4.0, 20~30°C respectively. The coatings were uniform and smooth, which were adhered to CFs. XRD patterns indicated that the copper coatings were mainly composed of pure copper. And TGA results identified an increase in thermal stability of the copper coated CFs.