Investigation of electroless silver plating process on 0.68 catio3-0.32 Ca (Zn1/3Nb2/3) O3 ceramic composition

Coating technology is carried out to provide corrosion, conductivity, surface friction, and aesthetic benefits. Silver plating is carried out with or without electricity, but it is possible to make homogeneous coating on both metallic and non-metallic substrates that have complex geometry with electroless silver plating. In the scope of this study, optimization of electroless silver plating was studied on catalytically inactive 0.68 mole fraction of calcium titanate and 0.32 mole fraction of calcium zirconium niobate resonator ceramic systems. An electroless silver plating bath was optimized along with the pretreatment processes, and two-stage metallization was applied to rough surfaces obtained after 5 percent hydrofluoric acid etching. The ceramic was immersed in three different coating baths after palladium activation. Surface morphology, elemental analysis, and coating thickness of the top and cross-section of samples were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and x-ray fluorescence. Phase formation analysis was done with X-ray diffraction. The optimum metallization procedure was identified as sensitization bath-2 and palladium bath-2, and the maximum coating thickness obtained after 1 hour with the addition of 20 milliliters of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid at 60 degrees Celsius was recorded as 13.46 micrometers.