Process of electroless plating Cu-Sn-Zn ternary alloy

Cu-Sn-Zn ternary alloy layer with 10 μm thickness was prepared through electroless plating method. The influences of process conditions including the concentration of metallic salts, reductant and complex agent on Cu-Sn-Zn alloy were studied in details. The stability to bear color changes and corrosion resistance of Cu-Sn-Zn film layer were studied through air-exposure experiment and electrochemical analyses test respectively. The results show that the performances of Cu-Sn-Zn film layer are obviously superior to brass matrix. By use of SEM, EDS and XRD, the morphology, microstructure and chemical composition were investigated. The results show that complex agent can increase the content of Sn and Zn, improve the evenness and compactness and decrease needle holes, therefore the properties of electroless plating layer such as the stability to bear color changes and corrosion resistance are improved remarkably. The probable mechanism of complex agent was discussed.