Electroless Ni-Co-P Coating of Cenospheres Using Ag（NH3）2+ Activator

Electroless Ni-Co-P-coating of fly-ash cenosphere particles is demonstrated in the present investigation. The Electroless Ni-Co-P-coating process is modified by replacing the conventional sensitization and activation steps with only using activation step with Ag(NH3)2+ activator. The cenospheres are characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) during and after the coating process. Relatively uniform coating is obtained under the given coating conditions. The possible mechanism of electroless Ni-Co-P-coating of cenospheres utilizing Ag(NH3)2+ activator is suggested. The low density Ni-Co-P coated cenospheres may be utilized for manufacturing conducting polymers for EMI-shielding application and microwave absorbing materials.