Manufacturing of copper coated SiC ceramic particles for metal matrix composites: optimizing the electroless deposition parameters

The deposition of metals on the ceramic particles has attracted many attentions in recent years, which cause better wettability of ceramics during casting of metal matrix composites. In this study, the effect of electroless parameters have been investigated on the amount of mass gain during deposition of copper on the SiC particles. For this purpose, pH, bath temperature, and particle size were considered as the process parameters. Scanning electron microscopy was used for characterizing the deposited particles. In addition, response surface method and Design Expert software were used for optimizing the process parameters. The results revealed that the particle size had more effect on the mass gain compared to the pH and bath temperature. Decreasing particle size and increasing both pH and bath temperature caused larger amount of mass gain. The best condition for the electroless deposition of the copper on the SiC ceramic particles was determined as particle size of 10 mu m, bath temperature of 60 degrees C, and pH of 10.