Application of thermogravimetry in the assessment of coatings ability to be metallized

The main aim of this work was to assess the ability of thermogravimetric method to predetermine the surface activation properties of the coatings intended for laser-assisted electroless metallization. In this technique of metallization, surface of polymer material has to be activated before immersing in electroless metallization bath. Surface activation may consist in compositional modification of polymer material and in laser irradiation. In this work, polyurethane or epoxy coatings containing copper(I) oxide and copper(II) acetylacetonate or copper hydroxide were laser irradiated and then electrolessly metallized. Surface activation properties are evaluated usually by means of optical imaging, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In this work, an attempt was made to evaluate these properties based on thermogravimetric measurements.