Selection of a suitable environmentally friendly (non-toxic) etching solution in the electroless metallisation of ABS polymers

ABSTRACT Electroless metallisation is a modern method for obtaining thin layers of metals and their alloys on various dielectric materials, which are increasingly used in various industries. One of the important stages in the pretreatment of the polymers for the chemical processes is the etching operation. It ensures surface roughening of the dielectric materials in order to improve the adhesion strength between the electroless deposited metal coating and the acrylonitrile–butadiene-styrene (ABS) substrate. Most often, this operation in practice is carried out in a chromic-sulphuric acid solution. In this work, investigations are carried out aiming to replace the harmful high chromium solution with an environmentally friendly one. A suitable environmentally friendly etching solution is proposed, with an optimal composition of the solution and working conditions. It can be used in the pretreatment of the ABS substrate for the subsequent deposition of copper or nickel coatings from the corresponding solutions with and without a reducer.