Selective polymer metalization for composite materials

Abstract

A process for creating a hybrid network of fibers comprises depositing a first polymer mixture (or solution) including a electroless plating initiator onto a collector. Simultaneously, a second polymer mixture (or solution) is deposited onto the collector while the first polymer mixture is being deposited. The second polymer mixture is not doped with a metal. A rate at which the first polymer mixture is deposited and a rate at which the second polymer mixture is deposited are controlled to control a ratio of metal-doped fibers and non-metal-doped fibers in a resulting hybrid network of fibers. The metal-doped fibers are created from the first polymer mixture and the non-metal-doped fibers are created from the second polymer mixture. After the fibers have been created, deposition of both the first polymer mixture and the second polymer mixture is stopped. The metal-doped fibers are metalized with a metal using electroless plating.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process for creating a hybrid network of fibers, the process comprising:
 depositing a first polymer mixture including an electroless plating initiator onto a collector;   depositing a second polymer mixture onto the collector while the first polymer mixture is being deposited, wherein the second polymer mixture is not doped with a metal;   controlling a rate at which the first polymer mixture is deposited and a rate at which the second polymer mixture is deposited to control a ratio of metal-doped fibers and non-metal-doped fibers in a resulting network of fibers, wherein the metal-doped fibers are created from the first polymer mixture and the non-metal-doped fibers are created from the second polymer mixture;   stopping deposition of both the metal-doped first polymer solution and the second polymer solution; and   metalizing the metal-doped fibers with a metal using electroless plating.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electroless plating initiator is a metal. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electroless plating initiator is a metalloid. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electroless plating initiator is a metal chelator. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electroless plating initiator is a metal-doped polymer solution. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1  further comprising removing the non-metal-doped fibers. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein removing the non-metal-doped fibers comprises biodegrading the non-metal-doped fibers. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein removing the non-metal-doped fibers comprises dissolving the non-metal-doped fibers. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the non-metalized fibers are semiconductors. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the non-metalized fibers are conducting polymers. 
     
     
         11 . A process for creating a hybrid network of fibers, the process comprising:
 depositing a metal-doped first polymer solution onto a collector;   depositing a second polymer solution onto the collector while the metal-doped first polymer solution is being deposited, wherein the second polymer solution is not doped with a metal;   controlling a rate at which the metal-doped first polymer solution is deposited and a rate at which the second polymer solution is deposited to control a ratio of metal-doped fibers and non-metal-doped fibers in a resulting network of fibers, wherein the metal-doped fibers are created from the metal-doped first polymer solution and the non-metal-doped fibers are created from the second polymer solution;   stopping deposition of both the metal-doped first polymer solution and the second polymer solution; and   metalizing the metal-doped fibers with a metal using electroless plating.   
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 11 , wherein depositing a metal-doped first polymer solution onto a collector comprises depositing a copper-doped first polymer solution onto the collector. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 11 , wherein depositing a metal-doped first polymer solution onto a collector comprises electrospinning the metal-doped first polymer solution onto the collector. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 11 , wherein metalizing the metal-doped fibers with a metal using electroless plating comprises metalizing the metal-doped fibers with gold using electroless plating. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 11 , wherein depositing a second polymer solution onto the collector further comprises depositing the second polymer solution onto the collector to create a structure for the metal-doped first polymer solution. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 11 , wherein depositing a second polymer solution onto the collector further comprises depositing the second polymer solution onto the collector to create a structure to direct fluids toward the metal-doped fibers. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 11  further comprising removing the non-metal-doped fibers. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 17 , wherein removing the non-metal-doped fibers comprises biodegrading the non-metal-doped fibers.