The role of wettability of electroless copper coating in porous silicon carbide structures

Copper (Cu) coatings of porous silicon carbide (SiC) structures were deposited using the electroless metal coating method. Ceramic slurry consisting of silicon carbide, bentonite and pure water was infiltrated into polyurethane sponge, and this structure was sintered at 1300°C in a furnace to obtain porous ceramic structures. Copper coating of porous ceramic structures was carried out by successive processes – namely, cleaning, sensitisation, activation, drying and immersion in the coating bath. To examine the effect of the coating, composites were manufactured by infiltrating AlSi10Mg casting alloy into copper-coated and uncoated porous structures. When the composites were compared, a decrease in the porosity of copper-coated composites was observed. The porosity of the aluminium (Al)/silicon carbide composite decreased from 0.74 to 0.38%, and the density of the composite increased from 2.72 to 2.74 g/cm³. The present study showed that copper coating increases interface bonding and improves physical properties.