Metallization of polyetherimide with 3D structures by supercritical carbon dioxide-assisted electroless Ni P plating

Polyetherimide (PEI) with 3-dimensional (3D) structures is a promising material for applications in electronic devices because of its numerous attractive properties. In the applications of PEI, the low electrical conductivity is often a shortcoming. The electrical conductivity can be improved by a metallization process. Electroless plating is a common metallization process for polymeric materials; however, conventional electroless plating process scarcely provides the metallized PEI. In this work, we overcome this limitation by a supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2)-assisted electroless NiP plating process. This scCO2-assisted electroless NiP plating allows metallization of PEI with 3D structures and realizes a low electrical resistance suitable for practical use in the electronic devices.