Autocatalytic metallization of polylactide

Abstract

In thiswork experimental results of a research aimed to provide the assessment of the ability of chemical modification to prepare polylactide (PLA) surface for autocatalytic metallization are presented. Chemical modification of PLA was performed using two solutions (1 and 2). Analysis of PLA samples was performed by means of goniometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results of contact angle measurements and surface energy calculations were presented. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of elemental composition of PLA surface layer was performed. Based on the experimental results, it was found that the proposed method can be successfully applied to prepare PLA surface for metallization. Autocatalytically deposited copper layer exhibited good adhesion to PLA and electrical conductivity.