ABSTRACT

In electroless plating, metallic coatings are formed as a result of a chemical reaction between the reducing agent present in the solution and metal ions. The metallic phase that appears in such reactions may be obtained either in the bulk of the solution or as a precipitate in the form of a film on a solid surface. Localization of the chemical process on a particular surface requires that the surface must serve as a catalyst. If the catalyst is a reduction product (metal) itself, autocatalysis is ensured, and in this case, it is possible to deposit a coating, in principle, of unlimited thickness. Such autocatalytic reactions constitute the essence of practical processes of electroless plating. For this reason, these plating processes are sometimes called autocatalytic.