Study of palladium catalyzation for electroless copper plating on polyimide film

In order to form flexible printed circuits through inkjet printing technique, the Pd(ll) catalyst ink was printed on the surface of polyimide film modified with KOH solution and then reduced with NaBH4 solution to extract the Pd(O) catalyst nuclei. The concentration of the Pd(ll) catalyst ink and reduction time showed a significant influence on the microstructure of the Pd(O) catalyst nuclei and the formation of Cu patterns through electroless plating. When reduction time exceeded 1 minute, and as the concentration of the Pd(II) catalyst ink increased above 0.02 M, the catalyst nuclei began aggregation, resulting in Cu patterns with thick and more defects.