Polymer Metallization via Cold Spray: An Investigation into the Effects of Particle Hardness and Morphology

Details

• Journal Article:
  Manufacturing Letters
• Personal Author:
  Chen, SIying ; Zhou, Fengfeng ; Reggetz, Bailley N. ; Lee, Eun Gyung ; Virji, M. Abbas ; Afshari, Aliakbar ; Jun, Martin Byung-Gyuk ; Akin, Semih
• Description:
  Metallization on polymers has captured remarkable attention across both industry and academia, facilitating the integration of unique features of polymer and metals. Particularly, direct metallization on polymers is critically important as it eliminates the need for surface activation, substrate heating, and post-processing. In this study, cold spray (CS) particle deposition was employed for direct metallization of a polymer substrate - Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) - with a focus on characterizing the influence of particle (powder) hardness and their morphologies on resulting deposition. In this regard, both spherical (sp) and irregular (ir)-shaped, copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al) feedstock powders were utilized, acknowledging that Cu is intrinsically harder than Al. The metallization process on the substrate was studied in terms of microstructure, deposition efficiency, film thickness, and adhesion strength. The experimental results showed that the Cu powders achieved higher deposition efficiency (approx. equal to 2.2-fold for ir-shaped, approx. equal to 2.1-fold for sp-shaped), film thickness (approx. equal to 4.4-fold for ir-shaped, approx. equal to 6.4-fold for sp-shaped), and adhesion strength (approx. equal to 1.9-fold for both ir- and sp-shaped) compared to the corresponding Al powders. Additionally, Cu powders exhibited lower surface porosity (24 % for ir-shaped, 20 % for sp-shaped), in contrast to the Al powders (51 % for ir-shaped, 31 % for sp-shaped). On the other hand, for both types of powders, the ir-shaped powders exhibited higher deposition efficiency (approx. equal to 1.6-fold for Al and approx. equal to 1.7-fold for Cu) than the sp-shaped powders. However, irregular-shaped powders resulted in higher surface porosity (approx. equal to 51 % for Al-ir, approx. equal to 31 % for Al-sp, approx. equal to 24 % for Cu-ir, approx. equal to 20 % for Cu-sp). Notably, no significant difference in adhesion strength was observed between the spherical and irregular-shaped powders. The findings elucidate the intricacies of the CS technique, contributing to functional metallization on polymeric substrates.
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Polymers Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cold Spray; Polymer Metallization; ABS; Powder Hardness; Powder Morphology Manufacturing; Polymers; Metallurgical Processes; Sprays; Morphology; Coatings;
• Source:
  Manuf Lett 2025 Aug; 44(Suppl):325-331
• ISSN:
  2213-8463
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  West Virginia ; Indiana ; New York ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA] ; Chicago Region [OSHA] ; New York City Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division ; HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• Volume:
  44
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071332
• Contact Point Address:
  Martin Byung-Guk Jun, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
• Email:
  mbjun@purdue.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e7dbadf1447d4178881b29944f8592a72b9fecc42e55a19274c4d7c3226c96ab2f2cbbb65252f41009444dfb8e3abfea22427173013b5e82b0bd2b5827dade02
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258808/cdc_258808_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.74 MB ]