Surface characteristics of electroless nickel plated electromagnetic shielding wood veneer

TLDR: In this article, the surface feature of plated wood veneer was observed by SEM and the surface composition and microstructure of the layer under different conditions were investigated by EDS and XRD respectively.

Abstract: Wood is a kind of porous natural material with very poor electro-conductivity, and it has almost no function of electromagnetic shielding. The method of electroless nickel plating was used to produce wooden material with electrical and effective electromagnetic shielding properties. Ni−P alloy layer was obtained on wood surface. The surface feature of plated wood veneer was observed by SEM and the surface composition and microstructure of the layer under different conditions were investigated by EDS and XRD respectively. Mean-while, the relevant surface resistivity and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness were measured. Correlations of the phosphorous content in the layer to the structure of Ni−P alloy, electro-conductivity and electromagnetic shielding of plated veneers were discussed. SEM photos showed that the surface of electroless nickel plated veneers were covered with Ni−P alloy layer entirely, which made wood veneers more like metal. At the same time, the results showed that with the decreasing of the phosphorous content in the layer, the microstructure of Ni−P alloy layer transformed to be microcrystalline and electro-conductivity and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness were imrpoved. When the phosphorous content was less than 2.37wt pct in the layer, the microstructure of Ni−P alloy layer was microcrystalline structure and its surface resistivity and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness were nearly 0.5 Ω/⊥ and 55–60dB respectively.