Plateable conductive polymeric parts and methods of forming

Abstract

A method of plating a substrate includes etching at least a portion of a surface of the substrate to form voids within the surface. The substrate includes a composite material with a network of electrically conductive nanostructures dispersed therein. Electrodes are attached to the substrate, it is placed in a bath of a first electrically conductive metal, and a voltage is applied to the substrate through the electrodes to deposit a first electrically conductive metal layer onto the surface of the substrate, and a second electrically conductive metal layer is electroplated thereon.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of plating a substrate, the method comprising:
 etching at least a portion of a surface of the substrate to form voids within the surface, the substrate comprising a composite material having a network of electrically conductive nanostructures dispersed within a thermoplastic matrix;   attaching electrodes to the substrate;   placing the substrate into a bath comprising a first electrically conductive metal;   applying a voltage to the substrate through the electrodes, wherein the voltage is conducted through the network of electrically conductive nanostructures to deposit a first electrically conductive metal layer onto the surface of the substrate; and   electroplating a second electrically conductive metal onto the first electrically conductive metal layer to form a second electrically conductive metal layer.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive nanostructures are in an amount of about 0.5 wt. % of the composite material. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the first electrically conductive metal is copper, and the second electrically conductive metal is nickel. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the first electrically conductive metal comprises at least one of copper, copper alloys, nickel, and nickel alloys. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic matrix comprises at least one of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PC/ABS). 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the network of electrically conductive nanostructures comprises carbon nanostructures. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the first electrically conductive metal layer has a thickness between about 20 μm to about 40 μm. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising conducting the voltage through auxiliary anodes disposed along a periphery of the substrate. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein an electroless plating process is not used to plate the substrate. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising electroplating a third electrically conductive metal onto the second electrically conductive metal layer to form a third electrically conductive metal layer. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the second electrically conductive metal is nickel, and the third electrically conductive metal is chrome. 
     
     
         12 . A part plated according to the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         13 . A method of plating a substrate, the method comprising:
 etching at least a portion of a surface of the substrate to form voids within the surface, the substrate comprising a composite material having a network of electrically conductive nanostructures dispersed within a thermoplastic matrix, the network of electrically conductive nanostructures being in an amount of about 0.5 wt. % of the composite material;   attaching electrodes to the substrate;   placing the substrate into a bath comprising a first electrically conductive metal;   applying a voltage to the substrate through the electrodes, wherein the voltage is conducted through the network of electrically conductive nanostructures to deposit a first electrically conductive metal layer onto the surface of the substrate; and   electroplating a second electrically conductive metal onto the first electrically conductive metal layer to form a second electrically conductive metal layer.   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the first electrically conductive metal layer has a thickness between about 20 μm to about 40 μm. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 13 , further comprising conducting the voltage through auxiliary anodes disposed along a periphery of the substrate. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the first electrically conductive metal is copper, and the second electrically conductive metal is nickel. 
     
     
         17 . A method of plating a substrate, the method comprising:
 etching at least a portion of a surface of the substrate to form voids within the surface, the substrate comprising a composite material having a network of electrically conductive nanostructures dispersed within a thermoplastic matrix, the network of electrically conductive nanostructures being in an amount of about 0.5 wt. % of the composite material;   attaching electrodes to the substrate;   placing the substrate into a bath comprising a first electrically conductive metal, the first electrically conductive metal comprising one of copper and a copper alloy;   applying a voltage to the substrate through the electrodes, wherein the voltage is conducted through the network of electrically conductive nanostructures to deposit a first electrically conductive metal layer onto the surface of the substrate in a thickness between about 20 μm to about 40 μm; and   electroplating a second electrically conductive metal onto the first electrically conductive metal layer to form a second electrically conductive metal layer.   
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising conducting the voltage through auxiliary anodes disposed along a periphery of the substrate. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein an electroless plating process is not used to plate the substrate. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising electroplating a third electrically conductive metal onto the second electrically conductive metal layer to form a third electrically conductive metal layer.