• Sałacińska, Anna
• Boczkowska, Anna
• Bucki, Janusz
• Bieliński, Jerzy
• Kozera, Rafał

Abstract

In this work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers coated with different thicknesses of Ni-P coatingswere studied. The coatings were deposited by electroless metallization lasting from 3 to 22 min and consistedof approximately 3 wt.% phosphorous. Computer quantitative image analysis was used to characterizethe surface features and thickness of the coatings as a function of the time of metallization. Theresults showed that quantitative image analysis is a useful technique for the measurement of the coatingthickness and can be used as a tool for obtaining an innovative description of the Ni-P coating morphology.The morphology of the coatings and their thicknesses were investigated by scanning electron microscopy.The image analyses were performed using the proprietary software Micrometer, developed at the Faculty ofMaterials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology. The observations revealed that aspecific feature of the coating topography is the hemispherical bulge of a diameter ranging from 0.1 to10 lm. The thickness of the coatings increases linearly with the metallization time. The obtained resultsindicated that the methodology proposed in the present work can be successfully applied and possessesseveral advantages over the traditionally used weight measurements technique.

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• morphology
• surface
• Carbon
• scanning electron microscopy