THE ENERGY OF ACTIVATION FOR ACCELERATORS AND STABILIZERS IN ELECTROLESS COPPER COATING

The inhibition efficiency of various stabilizers and the enhancing behavior of accelerators were studied by gravimetric analysis in electroless copper plating which is quite in need for industrial applications like electronics industries, very large-scale industries, oil, and textile field. The effect of temperature ranging from 303 K to 343 K could be understood from the Arrhenius plot. The activation energy (Ea) for the stabilizers employed showed a higher value in comparison with blank baths, thus exhibiting the inhibition property of the stabilizers. In a similar way, the accelerators possess higher activation energy for monocarboxylic acid than di and tricarboxylic acids. The trend obtained in the Arrhenius plot correlates well with Tafel polarization studies.